


The Rainbow Shot (CLEXA AU)

by iblamemia



Category: The 100 (TV), The 100 Series - Kass Morgan, clexa - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Basketball, Bisexual Female Character, Clexa, Coming Out, F/F, F/M, First Time, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Lesbian Character, M/M, Multi, Texas
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:28:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 65,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26446363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iblamemia/pseuds/iblamemia
Summary: Clarke is a 16-year-old teenager on the high school girls' basketball team in Texas whose biggest wish is to move to Los Angeles and study at UCLA.Before she can do that, she meets Lexa; the new classmate who turns her world upside down.*Collaboration with @anestattoo*
Relationships: Bellamy Blake & Clarke Griffin, Clarke Griffin & John Murphy, Clarke Griffin & Raven Reyes, Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Costia/Lexa (The 100), Finn Collins/Clarke Griffin, Lexa & John Murphy (The 100), Octavia Blake & Raven Reyes, Octavia Blake/Lincoln
Comments: 205
Kudos: 224





	1. Labor Day

Labor Day. The unofficial end of summer.

Clarke was riding her bicycle down Old Oaks Drive, leaving her friend Octavia’s house after their last sleepover of the summer; a tradition they had been keeping every year ever since 1st grade when they vowed to be best friends forever, sealing the deal with a pinky swear.

Back then, she hated going back home after having spent the night at her friend’s house, because it meant that their carefree days were officially over with the school district resuming classes the Tuesday following Labor Day.

Now, at the age of 16, Clarke couldn’t wait to go back to school; in fact, she would’ve done pretty much anything to be able to fast forward the remaining two years of high school and get on a plane to Los Angeles. Considering that was not an option, all that was left to do was to train hard and get the attention of a basketball scout who would offer her a full scholarship for the University of California where she would get into the best Fine Arts Program in the country.

That was THE PLAN.

The big plan that was going to be her ticket out of Houston.

Something that she had been working on for the last two years and hadn’t shared with anyone but her two best friends, Octavia and Raven, who had given her their full support and even considered joining her in her adventure.

Clarke felt more close than ever to making her dream come true, especially since she was recruited into Varsity a year ago, which was the high school basketball team, comprised of the 10 best players from all grade levels, leaving the Junior Varsity behind.

Her mother Abby was not a big fan of Clarke’s enthusiasm for the sport, as she would’ve preferred seeing her along her two best friends in the cheer squad, supporting The Mustangs, the boys football team and pride of Memorial High School.

Her father Jake, on the other hand, was glad to see his older daughter excited about basketball, reminding him of his great potential for a career in football, which unfortunately remained unexplored when he sustained a devastating knee injury in his first year of college, forcing him to put his dreams aside and take over the family’s very successful car dealership business.

Despite dreading the possibility of his daughter suffering the same fate, he felt proud every time he saw her on the basketball court and attended every single one of her games, giving her his absolute support.

As Clarke turned to Cobblestone Drive, she felt thankful for the tall oak trees on both sides of the road, keeping the hot Texas sun away from her light complexion all the way to her house. She couldn’t help but notice the white rental van parked in front of the neighbor’s house that had been empty since earlier that year, when its owner, Mr. Pike, was arrested for embezzlement of his company funds, leading it to bankruptcy.

It was something unexpected in the neighborhood, although Clarke was not surprised any more than Octavia and Raven with whom she had once spoken about their impressions after meeting him.

She never really liked Mr. Pike, in fact, she found him to be an arrogant and self-centered man, apart from that “something” in his eyes that made her so uneasy every time she crossed paths with him on the way home. Nevertheless, the truth was that despite her own impressions, he had managed to get in the neighbors’ good graces, who had accepted him quickly, attending his occasional most ostentatious party that would be talked about for weeks.

 _“Appearances…”_ she thought.

She hated that in others as much as he hated it in her own mother, who did her best to make sure that the only thing everyone talked about throughout the year was her Annual “Labor Day” party - a federal holiday that was celebrated on the first Monday in September - and a party Clarke would hate with all her might if it weren't for her friends being there.

After that scandal, the bank acted accordingly, seizing the property, and forcing his wife and two young children to leave the house.

It was curious how some of those same neighbors who had accepted Mr. Pike months ago were now claiming to having suspected from the beginning that all those luxuries and displays of power could not have been other than the result of some shady affairs.

Clarke, however, felt bad for his wife and children since she didn’t think she had been a participant in the misdeeds of her husband. Or maybe she had? Who could say?

She shrugged as she got off her bike.

In any case, that house already had a new owner and whoever the buyer was, she figured it must be someone wealthy enough to be able to pay for and maintain a property as large as that; just like most in that neighborhood.

It was a two-story house with cream-colored exposed brick walls, large windows with white trim and gabled roofs. It was surrounded by a garden with green grass that her own father had once mowed, seeing that the hedges that adjoined the fence that separated the two houses had grown after a few months without proper care, invading the side entrance of the house and forcing her father to make that decision; not to mention the microfauna generated by all that grass growing at its free will and that had migrated to their own garden.

In short, the house respected the aesthetics along with the rest of the houses in the neighborhood, including theirs, except for the dimensions that made their house seem slightly smaller next to it.

Clarke paid attention to the movers unloading the rental van, feeling a certain curiosity about her new neighbors, without paying too much attention to the vehicles of the catering company that her mother had hired for the party and that hindered the passage into the garage.

She dodged as she could the vehicles, pulling her bike and mentally complaining until she finally succeeded.

After putting the bicycle aside, she entered through the interior access door and took off her shoes before stepping on the white marble floor, remembering how meticulous and perfectionist - or how fussy - her mother was, especially on that day, and how much it stressed her to discover footprints or her backpack lying on the floor.

Clarke did not hesitate to put away her belongings inside the small, but well organized, closet where she located his slippers.

“Mother!” she shouted.

She ran into one of the catering boys, a few years older than Clarke, who was hurrying across, carrying a tray with some exquisite canapes to the main table in the living room and tripped, almost bumping into him.

The boy managed to dodge her and steadied the tray in time before causing a mess that would upset her mother's nerves and good mood.

“Oh! I'm sorry…” Clarke apologized as she took one of the appetizers.

She smirked as she turned her head toward the kitchen where she spotted Abby in her element, organizing the food.

The open style allowed her to discover a whole array of dishes and desserts on the island, at first glance as exquisite as that bite she had before reaching her mother.

“Mother...”

“I hope your hands are clean ...” Abby chided.

Clarke grimaced when she realized she had been caught in the act.

“Of course,” she said, letting out a little snort at the end of a nervous giggle.

“Clarke!” Abby raised her voice as she turned around to face her. “That is a very unattractive sound! You are not a child anymore… You are a young lady and you should start acting like one!” – she said before she resumed what she was doing earlier.

As soon Abby turned her back on her, Clarke simply rolled her eyes and decided to ignore her mother’s comment; something she did often to avoid any type of conflict.

Just as she was about to leave the kitchen, her mother spoke again.

“I left the new dress I bought for you in your room…” Abby said, and her words made Clarke stop walking and clench her jaw, knowing what was coming next. “It will be a nice change from your usual sweaty jersey and shorts you wear on your basketball games… I don’t know how you like that sport, there’s nothing elegant about it…” she sighed. “If only you were on the cheerleading squad with Octavia and Raven… and with Bellamy being The Mustangs’ team captain, the two of you would make the perfect couple…”

“Mom!” Clarke raised her voice as she turned to face her mother who at that moment turned her back on her, busy with her task. “How many times do I have to tell you? Bellamy and I, it is never going to happen! I’ve known him my whole life… and he’s my best friend’s big brother!”

Abby calmly grabbed one of the trays from the countertop and laid it on the kitchen island before she looked up and locked eyes with Clarke.

“Lower your voice, Clarke… we are not on a farm,” she said in a cold tone. “What will our new neighbors think?” she added, raising an eyebrow. “They are a nice, very well-situated couple from Australia, and they have a daughter your age… They don’t know anyone here, so I invited them to the party, and I expect you to make friends with their daughter.”

“Fine,” Clarke huffed. “May I go now?”

“Yes, you may.” Abby said and watched her older daughter walk away from her. “Oh, and Clarke?” She added, getting the blonde’s attention. “Considering that summer has come to an end, I expect that all of your summer… activities… cease as well.”

“What are you talking about?” Clarke frowned.

“If you and that Collins boy wanted to keep it a secret, then you shouldn’t have gone to the Memorial City Mall, dear.”

Clarke widened her eyes, too stunned to respond while feeling a sudden wave of heat spread to her cheeks.

How could her mother possibly know about Finn?

They had only gone out a few times over the last month and she was sure that no one had seen them. She wasn’t trying to hide it, but she also didn’t want people to know just yet, at least not until she figured out if she wanted to make it official between them.

And especially, she wanted to prevent her mother from finding out and taking the opportunity to meddle in her love life.

Well, not much of a love life, to be honest. But still, she wanted Abby out of it.

“It’s not a secret… we just hung out a few times, that’s all…” Clarke said quietly.

“Good,” Abby said in a condescending tone. “You should aim higher than the Collins,” she added, just when a catering employee entered the kitchen.

The boy, the same one Clarke had come across earlier when she stole that aperitif that was now stuck at the height of her esophageal hiatus, stopped in the middle of the kitchen not knowing very well how to proceed, fearing to interrupt what seemed to him an argument between mother and daughter, given the palpable tension in the air.  
  
"This tray here is for the table by the pool and this one is for the living room table," she said calmly.

The boy nodded, taking both trays at the same time, and ran out of the kitchen.  
  
Abby looked at her daughter again.

“Go get ready now, please… your father and sister should be home any minute now, and the guests will start arriving shortly.”

With that, the conversation was over, and Clarke went up the stairs to her bedroom, where she found the dress her mother had bought for her.

Her first reaction to seeing that dress neatly placed on the bed and the matching red shoes on the floor, was to hate his mother enormously - not because she hated that dress in itself, although it wasn't really her style; it was because she hated the way her mother tried to control everything, from how to act to what to say and even what to wear.  
  
Abby had a habit, a very bad habit, the need to make things just as she had pictured it in her head, with no room for negotiation, believing that her particular way of perceiving it was the only possible reality, especially on that day.  
  
Clarke could swear her mother spent the rest of the year meticulously planning and organizing the "Labor Day" party, and much to her regret, as she always did, Clarke would have to do her part of the job for that day.  
  
She had just enough time to get ready, so she took off her clothes and looked at that dress from the side, trying to imagine how her developed breasts would look like in that cleavage.  
  
After putting the dirty clothes in the laundry basket, Clarke went to the bathroom.  
  
At least she had had a chance to choose the only room, aside from her parents' room at the end of the hall, that had its own bathroom, giving her a little more privacy and autonomy.  
  
That shower felt great and after a few minutes she came out, with the scent her favorite shower gel lingering on her skin, a bath towel covering her naked body and another on her head as a turban.  
  
Madi was in the bedroom, at the foot of the bed, staring at the dress Abby had chosen for her older sister.

“Hey!”

“Wow! Nice dress...” she said.

“You like it?” Clarke hesitated.

“Yes! It’s kinda sexy ... mine, however, it is nothing more than a piece of tablecloth with wide straps and big buttons at the height of the abdomen... very pin-up…” she protested. “I think mom is getting worse every year.” Maddy sighed.

“Yeah, but it’s not like it’s really affecting you... is it? - Clarke pointed out, taking the clean underwear from her closet drawer.  
  
“Why should it? It is you who insists on contradicting her all the time, I already told you... show her only what she wants to see and she will be happy.”  
  
Clarke snorted.  
  
“I don't know how you do it ... but if mom knew that you skate behind her back, I'm sure she would have a heart attack.  
  
“The trick is to do everything possible so that she does not find out.”  
  
Clarke sighed as she took the white dress off the bed.  
  
“You think I don't do that? But she seems to have eyes and ears everywhere ... She brought up the subject of Bellamy again just because she seems to have found out I went out with Finn.”  
  
“She wouldn't worry so much if you just nodded and acted like you agree with her ... this way she thinks of you as the rebellious daughter,” Madi laughed, falling backwards on the bed. “But anyway ... what’s up with Finn?” she asked, looking sideways at her sister.

“We only went out a couple of times.”  
  
Madi raised her eyebrows and continued her inquiry, seeking to satisfy her curiosity.  
  
“Yeah? Is he a good kisser?”  
  
“Um ... I guess," Clarke shrugged.  
  
“No way he’s as good as my Luca,” Madi said as she grabbed her phone and fixed her gaze on a photo of her boyfriend.

Clarke looked at her little sister and smiled at the expression on her face.

“Aren't you a little young to be so in love?”

Madi shrugged and got off the bed.

“Love has no age,” she said and winked at Clarke as she started to walk toward the door. “By the way… Bell is going to drool when he sees you in this dress today.”

“What?” Clarke's eyes widened. “Don't start, Madi… you know we're just friends, nothing more.”

“Well, I'm pretty sure that Bell worships the ground you walk on...” Madi said, leaning against the door frame. “You know, we need more skate parks in the city... if you marry him, you could pull some strings, since you would be the mayor's daughter-in-law…”

Clarke frowned as she turned to look at Madi, who had a mocking smile on her face.

“You're not in the mood today, huh? Okay, I'm going!” she laughed, raising her arms as she walked in the direction of her room.

Clarke couldn't help but smile at her sister's silliness, when she suddenly heard Abby calling them upstairs, and from her tone, she could tell she was getting impatient.

The blonde put on that cherry print dress and looked at herself meticulously in the mirror.

Come to think of it, that dress wasn't bad at all. It was adjusted to her waist as if it had been cut to size, highlighting her hips with the flight skirt to her knees, and her breasts under the neckline perfectly differentiated with a fabric in a bright red and a vintage cut.

She put on her shoes and looked back at herself, turning in front of the mirror.

For a second, she felt like a movie star, trying to imagine her friends' reaction to seeing her. She would have preferred to be able to choose a T-shirt, shorts and sneakers instead, clothing that she considered much more comfortable, but the truth was that she thought this dress made her look fairly sexy, noticing a wave of heat running through her cheeks.

“I knew it! That dress is perfect,” Abby commented, standing by the door.

Clarke rolled her eyes, resigning herself to the idea that her mother was right.

“It’s alright,” she answered distantly.

“The guests have already arrived.”

“Huh… very punctual.”

Abby raised an eyebrow in response to Clarke's comment, but said nothing, ignoring her daughter's sarcastic tone.

“Try to behave and don't take long... I'll go check up on Madi,” she said in a tone that put an end to her sarcasm.

Clarke sighed.

She was upset with her mother and would have willingly escaped through the window, but the problem was that she would have landed directly in the middle of the guests, whom she could see waiting in the garden.

Maybe her mother was just trying to protect her, but hell… She had been an adolescent herself, before becoming a mother; she better than anyone should understand how she felt and how frustrating it was when someone tried to mold her away from her tastes and needs. But apparently these kinds of things had been forgotten over the years, probably ever since she obtained the official title of “mother”.

Clarke nodded to herself. That must be it.

Her mother had obtained that title unexpectedly, forcing her to put aside all her aspirations, her medical career; which could be why she insisted that she continue in her footsteps on a path she, herself, had not been able to finish.

Clarke shook her head, trying not to think about it anymore and with no more time to lose, she dried her hair, giving it volume with the diffuser and an application of “mouse” for curly hair, combing it with the bangs slightly wavy to one side, adding to its overall look an even more vintage touch.

Some mascara for her eyelashes, blush powder to tone the paleness of her cheeks, and lipstick to match the color of her shoes was all she needed to emphasize her natural beauty.

She looked at herself one last time before leaving the room and, as she did so, she couldn't help but smile at herself in the mirror and decided she looked sexy, feeling that wave of heat creeping up her neck again.

After all, her mother had good taste, although that was something Clarke would never acknowledge.

She walked down the stairs carefully, balancing on her red high heels. She didn't use them that often and she valued the skill of those girls who wore them daily.

Madi was already downstairs, she located her with her parents talking to the parents of her friend Murphy, the “misfit”, as the girls had nicknamed him.

Clarke disagreed; in fact, she found him to be intriguing, despite his rather dark sense of humor which had gained him more enemies than friends, and she felt that deep down, he was not a bad person.

Her father, that simple man, whose smile illuminated even the darkest day of all, wore a tight gray suit jacket, a matching vest, a white shirt, and a tie. His blonde hair was slicked-back and he had completed the outfit with classic black shoes.

He was hugging Abby, who had chosen a two-piece knee-length satin dress with 3/4 sleeves and a floral print that sculpted her still very slim figure, making her look much younger.

Clarke looked at them for a second. They both looked very elegant, the perfect couple; somehow their opposite personalities made them fit in well, blend in, and although she sometimes wondered if there was something more underneath that perfect appearance that as a daughter she might not have been able to see, Clarke did not doubt that they loved each other.

Madi was standing next to them, looking very formal; almost in an angelic attitude, wearing a dress in blue and white squares in a combination with blue ballet flats with a bow. Her hair was loose, the smile on her lips very polite, and a slight gleam of complicity lit up her eyes when she saw her big sister appear at the top of the stairs.

Clarke blushed as her eyes followed Madi's gaze and met Bellamy's eyes, remembering the exact words she had said about what he would think upon seeing her.

He stared at her with his mouth slightly open, his eyes rounded and sizzling like two little sparklers. He scanned her up and down, perhaps surprised by the dramatic change, and although they had seen each other that same morning, Clarke's impression was as if he hadn't seen her in a long time, months or even years.

Perhaps he was just discovering her for what she really was; an extremely attractive girl and maybe something other than just his younger sister’s best friend.

Bellamy tried to hide it but reacted like someone who has been caught doing something forbidden, nervous to notice Clarke's gaze.

He straightened his shoulders and greeted her with a slight shake of his head and a sheepish smile on his lips, but he quickly broke eye contact when Raven stepped between them, drooling almost as much as Madi had assured Clarke that Bellamy would upon seeing her.

“Damn, Clarkie ... You look hot as fuck!” Raven exclaimed.

“Umph… sexy!" Octavia added.

“Thanks! You too,” the blonde blushed, noticing a few more glances at her.

“Well what can I say?” Octavia replied, turning around and showing off her elegant and flattering party dress, in an indigo blue tone, with a lined chiffon skirt and a wonderful fall to the knee.

The top part was made with a satin bottom and a sweetheart neckline, covered with a beautiful semi-transparent brocade in the same tone and small pearls around her waist.

“This dress was made in Europe with one hundred percent guaranteed quality,” added the brunette.

“Don't be presumptuous!” Raven protested, elbowing her in the ribs. “Blondie! If Finn were here, he would eat you up…” she assured, raising her eyebrows repeatedly. “If he fucks as good as he kisses… Umph! You're in for a treat…”

Raven had opted for a cape sleeve, faux leather midi dress, in a navy blue that highlighted her tanned skin, open neckline, a pencil skirt that fell to the mid-calf and opened at her left thigh.

“Here we go again,” Octavia protested, rolling her eyes.

“What?”

“We all know the story of how you hooked up with Clarke's boyfriend in seventh grade!”

“He's not my boyfriend,” Clarke hurried to clarify.

Raven rolled her eyes, ignoring Clarke's comment.

“I didn't ‘hook up’ with him… it was while playing ‘Spin the bottle’ and I'm being completely objective when I say that Finn is a good kisser and I’d like to think, for Clarke’s sake, that when the time comes, he will be a good lover too.”

Octavia sighed, considering the Latina impossible. She was convinced that regardless of it being a game or not, no girl liked to hear from another girl, even if this was her friend, how well her boyfriend kissed.

“Girls… I don't mind… Finn is not my boyfriend and I'm in no rush to find out if he's good in bed," Clarke intervened, mediating between them.

The two girls had that love-hate relationship, one moment they hated each other, and the next they couldn't live without each other.

They used to pick on each other constantly and it was not the first time they ended up becoming angry; sometimes they would stop talking, even for days and although when they reconciled it was as if nothing had ever happened between them, in the meantime it was Clarke who had to put up with their complaints.

“Besides, I remember that day well… I'll never forget the look on your face when you turned the bottle and it stopped, pointing at Lincoln," Clarke recalled, bringing out the redness on Octavia's cheeks.

“Oh God! I was so embarrassed… and you kissed…” Octavia said, referring to Clarke, but stopped the sentence in time.

Clarke noticed her friends’ expression as she felt a hand rest on her waist.

“Good afternoon, ladies,” Abby greeted, looking at her daughter with seriousness despite that polite smile on her lips.

“Mrs. Griffin! Such an elegant dress and magnificent party as always,” Raven hurried.

“Thank you… I love your dresses as well… exquisite taste, no doubt,” she added cordially.

“The occasion is worth the effort,” Octavia intervened, diverting Abby's attention completely. “We were all looking forward to your Labor Day party, we have talked a lot about it, and as always the catering is simply magnificent.”

Octavia took one of the appetizers from the table.

“The prawns are my favorites.”

“Thank you,” Abby smiled. “It is a pleasure having you, as always... Hopefully, my daughter will acquire some of your preferences by association.”

They both smiled politely as Clarke clenched her jaw and rolled her eyes.

“However, now I must steal her from you for a moment… Come, join me…” she said, taking her by the arm. “I want to introduce you to our new neighbors, I'm sure you will love them.”

“Okay… I won't be long,” Clarke said, looking at her friends before she turned around.

They parted ways with the girls and walked towards the pool area where Abby had mainly organized the party.

The tables that were set around the pool offered a variety of food and drinks for the guests that were randomly scattered around backyard as they laughed and chatted, enjoying the event that Abby always made it to be a special day in the neighborhood.

Clarke, however, could only think of the moment when everyone would go home, so that she could enjoy a night swim in the pool with their friends.

“It will be good that you meet them and that you meet their daughter, it will be nice for her to have a friend close by,” Abby said as she led her through the crowd.

“Fine… but I can’t promise I’ll like her.”

Abby rolled her eyes, but said nothing, convinced that once again her intuition would be right.

“Mr. and Mrs. Woods… again, welcome to the neighborhood! I already introduced you to Madi, my younger daughter… This is my other daughter, Clarke.”


	2. Lexa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Mature (underage) content

Lexa Woods ran upstairs like the wind.

She tried to appear calm when she was talking to his mother earlier, giving her the reasons why she didn't feel like going to that party, but as soon as her mother turned around, she climbed the steps of the stairs in pairs of two and locked herself in her room.

This was a different, new place.

The house was beautiful and much larger than the last one she had lived in for the past four years in Madrid, her previous destination, and the place where she had met Costia, her first love.

She wrinkled her nose, feeling especially upset about the latest move. She still had not forgiven her parents for uprooting her from the only place she thought could finally feel like home, and for condemning her to a long-distance relationship. Despite her feelings on the subject, when her father asked her why she would not go to the party, Lexa just said she felt tired.

The truth was that for a long time she did not mind following them wherever her father's work took them. She had conceded, but she was no longer a child and was beginning to have certain needs that her parents could not satisfy with gifts, although she was grateful that they had bought her the latest generation computer to be able to communicate with her friends.

She turned on the computer and typed the password.

“Shit!”

Lexa snorted when she found that the rush was confusing her again, reading the error message at the Skype login.

She was late for her chat session with Costia and was afraid that the brunette had gotten tired of waiting for her and had gone to sleep.

She took a deep breath and mentally went over the passwords she always used until she remembered the right one.

“H ... E ... D ... A,” she spelled as she typed, making sure she wasn't mistaken again, and finally, the home screen appeared, showing all her Skype contacts on the left.

Costia was online.

With no time to waste, Lexa hit the blue phone icon in the upper right corner.

“Hi, baby!” Lexa smiled when she saw Costia's face on the screen.

“Hey, sexy!” Costia winked at her. “Did you miss me?

“You have no idea! I thought my parents would never leave!” she replied, sounding frustrated.

“Where did they go?”

“Our neighbors are throwing some stupid party for Labor Day... it’s like a posh annual thing or something like that...” Lexa shrugged, hearing some laughter coming from the garden next door.

The window was wide open and yet the breeze barely blew through it. It was hot, almost as hot as the hottest day of summer in Madrid.

“What are you up to?”

“I just got home, actually...”

“Isn't it like... 1:30 in the morning in Madrid? - She asked as she glanced at her phone on the desk.

“Yes, but... we went out for a drink...”

Lexa wrinkled her nose, feeling slightly… jealous? She was really beginning to hate that awful distance with all her might, and it was only beginning.

“ _We_? And on a Monday?”

“Oh, Lucía and I... we just hung out with her cousin Amaia,” Costia explained casually. “We only have one more week left before school starts… Gotta make the most of it.”

However, Lexa could only hear a “blah blah blah”.

“Amaia?” asked the brunette as if that name was the only thing Costia had said.

“Oh, you don't know her... she just moved here from the Basque Country and will be our new classmate in the Bilingual Baccalaureate program.”

“Right…” Lexa clenched her jaw.

“Ohhh, baby... I know that look,” Costia said playfully. “You have nothing to worry about, gorgeous... She is so not my type... and she has a girlfriend back home... Plus, you know I only have eyes for you,” she added, winking at her.

Lexa's face relaxed and she gave Costia a sheepish smile.

“There’s my favorite smile,” Costia grinned. “So... you’re all alone in the house now?”

“Yes.”

“Hm... Costia bit her lower lip not so subtly. “I was thinking... I know you said you weren't ready to have sex yet... but I thought maybe we could start doing some things... on Skype?”

“Now?” Lexa swallowed hard, widening her eyes.  
  
“You're home alone, aren’t you?”  
  
“Yes, but...”  
  
“Oh, come on, babe… It’s gonna be fun,” Costia insisted.  
  
“Um… okay…” Lexa caved and bit her lower lip nervously, feeling how the temperature of her body quickly adjusted to that of the environment, coloring her cheeks.  
  
“Awesome!” Costia exclaimed excitedly.  
  
“So… um… How do we… um…” Lexa hesitated, stroking her hair nervously “What should I...”  
  
“Relax, baby…” Costia chuckled. “Do you remember when we were in my room the night before I went to Italy?” she asked.  
  
  
Lexa nodded, choking on the memories.  
  
  
“I really enjoyed that... Did you?  
  
  
The brunette nodded again.  
  
  
That night they had ended up on the bed, after a few kisses that grew in intensity as the heat and humidity had risen in their bodies, especially between their legs. Costia had climbed on top of her and rubbed her sex against her thigh, silencing Lexa and her own moans with more kisses.  
  
  
  
“Yeah... It really turned me on when you touched me… here…” Costia whispered in a very seductive tone, moving a little closer to the screen; she placed her hand on her breast and grabbed it, covering it completely. “Like this…”  
  
  
Lexa slightly opened her mouth enjoying the way her girlfriend tightened the grip on her own breast and lifted it; her eyes narrowed as she bit harder on her plump lower lip as a result of that familiar and so pleasant tension accumulating in the lower part of her abdomen.  
  
  
“Mmm... it felt really good, Lexa...” Costia moaned. “Did you like it when I took off my shirt? Remember?”  
  
“Yes...” she replied as Costia pulled her shirt over her head, revealing her black cotton bra.  
  
“I wish you were here, baby... I'm so turned on..." Costia grabbed her breasts with both hands, now without her shirt. “Take off your shirt, Lexa ...” she asked.  
  
  
It wasn’t the first time for them wearing only underwear in front of each other, but Lexa couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward taking her clothes off in front of the camera.

However, she didn't want Costia to think she was being childish, so she quickly grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head before dropping it to the ground.  
  
Costia looked at her shirtless girlfriend through the camera and experienced an intense wave of heat that rose up her neck to her face, coloring her cheeks with pleasure.

Her breasts were round and medium-sized, and her hard nipples were poking through the material of her grey sports bra, hard enough that Costia could do more than intuit or imagine them… their color, their texture.

“Fuck... you're so hot, baby...” Costia moaned louder, sliding her hand down her abdomen until she reached her sex. “I'm wet... here...” she added, moving her fingers between her folds.

“Costia...” Lexa spoke, breathing heavily.

“I wish I could touch you...”

“Like this?”

All of the sudden Lexa felt brave and grabbed her breasts, squeezing them gently.

“Just like that, yeah… Oh, Lexa…” Costia increased the pressure, rubbing her wet, bulging clitoris.

Lexa licked his lips, and although he could not see his girlfriend's hand, he had a pretty good idea of what she was doing with it.

The thought of that and the pleasure written all over her face aroused her, and although she did not feel comfortable enough to accompany her in the same way in front of the camera, she surely did not mind seeing Costia do it, so she continued to stimulate her, caressing her nipples and panting, until she heard her girlfriend moan her release.

“Baby... that was great...” Costia said, once her breathing had calmed down.

Lexa was about to respond when she heard someone knock on Costia's door.

“Just a moment!” Costia shouted and quickly put on her shirt. “Come in!”

Lexa did the same and then overheard a brief conversation between Costia and her mother. A few moments later, Costia was alone again and turned her attention back to her.

“My mom... I have to go to bed,” she pouted his lips. “She's making me have breakfast with her tomorrow at this new restaurant... ugh...” She rolled her eyes. “I'll make it up to you, I promise!”

“Oh, it's okay,” Lexa smiled. “Talk to you tomorrow then?”

“Yes, I'll text you," Costia smiled back. “Okay... gotta go… I love you! Bye!” She blew a kiss at the camera.

“I love you,” Lexa did the same and Costia disappeared from the screen.

She let out a sigh and leaned back in the chair, dropping her head over the backrest. She covered her face with both hands and the image of her girlfriend pierced her mind; replaying the moment when she had that beautiful release before her eyes.

It had been exciting, it was true, despite not having felt capable of masturbating herself for her. However, it had left her aroused enough and wanting to free herself without the inconvenience of doing it in front of a camera, so she shut down the computer with a fixed idea in her head.

She got up from the chair and went to the bed, one of big dimensions in which she and a couple of other friends could sleep comfortably, with the intention of doing something other than have a nice nap, but on the way there, she was distracted by the voices and laughter of the guests at that stupid party.

Stupid, pretentious party.

It was what she thought of it, maybe because she was still angry.

But she honestly believed that the parties should be celebrations that people have with their friends and loved ones, so for Lexa it made little sense then that they had invited her and her parents just as they arrived in the neighborhood.

Although she could understand that it could be a custom, a way to meet them and to welcome them; maybe to gossip about the lives of others or it might have been simply a way to make friends.

Whatever the main reason for the invitation was, Lexa could not help but feel a bit curious; just enough for her to drift toward the window on her way to the bed.

She leaned with her arms on the windowsill and looked out.

Its gardens adjoined on the side, separated by a column of hedges, high enough to respect the privacy of both families when using the pool, but not enough to prevent the view from their rooms, noticing that the windows of what she assumed were the bedrooms of the other house were right across hers.

She could see the tables, decorated with white tablecloths and floral arrangements, and all the guests in small groups chatting animatedly around the pool as they drank and ate in their party dresses and suits.

The pool was slightly smaller than the one Lexa had in her new garden; it was surrounded by led lights around its perimeter and, unlike hers, in the area next to the stairs, a part of the pool was forming a small jacuzzi.

Perhaps there were people than she had imagined, so she did not regret one bit having decided not to attend that party.

Socializing was her strong suit.

She was quite shy at first; it was usually hard for her to be the one to break the ice, apart from the fact that her sexual orientation was something that also worried her.

She and Costia had done some research on the subject just before moving and from what they had been able to find out, there in Houston, homosexuality or anything other than being straight was not so well regarded. Lexa had not intention to hide that part of her, much less go back to the closet, and she was sure that everyone at that party would’ve wanted to subject her to a lot of questions about her tastes, hobbies, her aspirations for the future and even if she had a boyfriend. Even it would have been with the intention of getting to know her and make her feel integrated, just thinking about that kind of interrogation made Lexa's hair stand on end.

If there was something worse than all that moving around the globe, it was having to start over, and she was not looking forward to having to go through that again.

She easily located her father.

He was a big man, in a light gray, plaid, long-sleeved notched lapel suit, standing out from the rest, not only because of his big, robust body, but because the suit was too conspicuous among the solid colors of the majority of the outfits Lexa was able to make out from the window.

She was not convinced when her father asked her opinion; she just shrugged, agreeing that it was not much better than the other options he had paraded with.

He had combined the suit with the only thing Lexa chose, a pair of caramel shoes that shone as bright as his smile next to her mother; for Lexa she was one of the most beautiful and intelligent women she knew, and not only for the simple fact of being her mother.

Becca held her husband by the arm in a loving and somewhat shy gesture as she brushed away a loose strand that fell from her headdress to her face.

Lexa knew her mother well and especially that gesture; surely Gustus was praising her again in front of that couple with whom they chatted animatedly, as he always used to do in all meetings and among his colleagues and friends. He would go on and on about her being an amazing mother and an excellent writer, and he would not hold back on appreciating her beauty as well, on this occasion exalted in an elegant white suit with a deep V-neckline.

She couldn’t help but smile; they were good parents even if they “forced” her to follow them around the world.

The day would come when she wouldn't have to.

Two more years.

What destination would she choose?

Maybe she would ask Costia to move with her to Los Angeles, which probably wouldn't be a problem. She was convinced that her girlfriend would accept and follow her; Costia could buy a house anywhere in the world with the money she kept in her saving account, one that her parents had been busy making deposits on ever since she was a baby and that she would have access to after turning eighteen.

Not to mention the inheritance that awaited her after her parents’ death.

The conversation between her parents and that other couple was interrupted by a woman of similar age to theirs, with brown hair, slim and also very elegant, and from her attitude, her cordiality and her disposition, Lexa deduced that she must be the hostess, their new neighbor, and the girl next to her...

“Wow!” she thought.

It must be her daughter.

The woman said something to Lexa's parents, introducing her, and she greeted them with an outstretched arm and a small bow of her head in a most formal attitude.

But if there was one thing Gustus enjoyed the most when he met someone, it was greeting in the European style; he took the girl’s hand, pulled it and gave her a kiss first on the right cheek and then the left, following the Spanish custom.

It was obvious that she was not expecting it, so she shyly tilted her head down, which made Lexa smile.

That was just how her father was and... that girl… she was...

Umph!

She knew that she and one of her neighbors’ two daughters were about the same age. and that they would even go to the same school because it was the trick or the fact that her parents had used when they were trying to convince her to accompany them to the party; they wanted her to make friends soon, maybe because deep down they felt a little guilty.

But Lexa could swear that this girl looked older, much more... mature, judging by the way her defined body looked in that patterned white dress.

She shook her head.

Perhaps it was only because of the state she was in after her conversation with Costia that she could not stop her eyes from walking down that neckline to her generous breasts and for a second, she found herself imagining how it must feel to touch them, to lean and then...

She frowned, stopping her thought.

Perhaps that superficial reaction of hers was because Costia had smaller breasts in comparison, although not as small as her own, and maybe it was just an innocent observation; of course that could’ve been only an excuse to justify the direction of her wandering eyes.

She pushed that thought away immediately by slapping her forehead with her open hand, feeling a bit guilty, but at the same time more and more heated.

The conversation with his girlfriend had definitely left her feeling quite sensitive.

She looked at the girl once more, forcing her eyes to move higher, discovering long blond hair, shiny just like her white teeth, which she flashed at Gustus, smiling at something he had said to her.

Perhaps the color of her hair was not entirely natural, but from that distance from which Lexa was observing her, that color looked very good on her, falling on the light skin of her shoulders, another detail that caught her attention.

_“What color would her eyes be?”_ she wondered.

Lexa couldn't get a good look at her features, but she imagined that she was beautiful and probably pretty posh too.

She figured it could be said for everyone in that neighborhood, but in that moment, she couldn’t care less about it, not when she was about to satisfy her needs, still feeling that special tension in her crotch.

She turned away from the window and flopped onto the bed.

In any other situation, she might have needed a little bit of porn to warm up, but that afternoon she didn't think she needed it; she unbuttoned her denim shorts and reached in with her hand under the elastic of her Calvin Klein boxers.

That was a very tomboy fashion according to her mother, but Lexa loved to wear them from time to time because they were quite comfortable and because she was aware of how sexy she looked in them.

“Oh God… Yes...” she moaned with the assurance that she was alone, and no one could hear her.

She was so wet that she didn't need to moisten her fingers in her mouth, like other times, before caressing her needy core, which was already throbbing between her sensitive folds.

She applied some gentle pressure, taking in all those sensations, slowly, along and throughout her body.

She was not in a hurry, or so she thought.

With her eyes closed, she concentrated on the way the energy accumulated under her belly as she stimulated her bulging clit with her fingers and how her body shuddered, a little more excited with each touch.

It was hot.

Too hot.

She pulled down her pants and boxers a little lower, leaving them in the middle of her buttocks, allowing herself more freedom of movement.

She bit her lip, imagining that she had Costia on top of her and her thigh pressed against her sex.

With the other hand she moved up, imagining it was Costia's hand, under her shirt looking for her breast; she touched it, striking that exact spot where her nipple rose hard in response.

She pushed past the fabric and pinched it directly, sending out a wave of electricity that made her moan and increase the pressure and speed of her fingers.

It felt so good that her body arched, riding that wave of pleasure at the same time that a fleeting image of that blonde she saw from the window crossed her mind, interfering with the image of Costia in front of the camera; so fast that she didn't have time to stop it, block it, before she reached her orgasm.

She lay on her back, panting and spasming some until she could catch her breath and found herself shocked by the intensity of that orgasm, as much as surprised by the trick her mind had played on her.

_“What the hell was that?”_ she thought.

Lexa jumped out of bed and adjusted her clothes, feeling bad about what she had just done and went out to wash her hands in the bathroom at the end of the hallway, trying not to give it any importance; it happened because she was horny and even though that blonde was hot, she loved Costia, no question about it.

Then she returned to the bedroom and turned on the tv, seeking a distraction as she waited for the hours to pass and her new life in Houston to begin.

She found one of her favorite Netflix series and lay on her side in bed, but after the first twenty minutes of the episode, she closed her eyes a few times, unable to keep them open for much longer until she fell asleep.

She was tired indeed.

* * *

“Hey... Honey...”

Lexa stretched, noticing the dim room and her mother sitting on the edge of the bed.

“What time is it?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.

She located her phone, but she had left it on the desk.

“It's almost 9:30 pm... Have you eaten anything?”

Lexa shook her head.

“You’re home early... Is the party over?”

“Well... tomorrow is a working day,” Becca said, tilting her head. “You should have some dinner and sleep... your classes start tomorrow...”

“Okay... What are the new neighbors like?” Lexa asked, a bit surprised by the unexpected interest.

Becca raised her eyebrows.

“Well... they are quite nice people... you should have come...”

“Maybe the next time.”

Her mother smiled, got up and exited the room, leaving Lexa still lying on her back on the bed.

She had no appetite, she was also not sleepy after that impromptu nap, and she would not be able to speak to Costia until the next day.

She noticed her guitar, a Fender Malibu California series, leaning on one side of her closet. That guitar had traveled almost as much as she had, and since they had arrived, she still hadn't had time to remove it from its case and place it on its stand.

Lexa cocked her head and got out of bed, thinking that maybe she could distract herself playing some chords.

She took it out of the case and returned to her bed with it in hand and a cloth, an old shrunk T-shirt that Lexa used to clean it. It needed some adjusting, it was a bit out of tune, among other things because at their farewell party, Lucía and Costia had dedicated themselves to demonstrating their artistic skills, basically beating the strings of that guitar.

She smiled vaguely, remembering that party while thinking about how difficult it was going to be for her to get used to this new change.

She decided to play some song covers, but after the first few chords, laughter caught her attention coming the window, through which a soft, warm breeze was now blowing.

Lexa narrowed her eyes. Her mother had said the party was over and yet that laughter seemed to suggest the opposite.

She got up, leaving the guitar on the bed, and went to the window.

The lights from the neighbors’ garden were on, all the way around the pool, as were the lights from the indoor floodlights in a changing variety of color, creating a rainbow under the water.

Several people were chatting inside and others were sitting on the edge of the pool with their legs in the water, wearing their bathing suits.

She had no doubt that this was a private party, probably the real party.

A boy with long hair, a little older than the rest, caught her attention, chatting with another boy with dark hair and a sculpted body. They both looked at the girls in the pool when one of them yelled something, splashing them with some water.

The other girl next to her leaned on the edge of the pool and called the boy with dark hair who approached with his glass in hand and leaned towards the girl. She whispered something in his ear, and he looked to the side with a mischievous smile and an expression that made Lexa's stomach turn, forcing her to look away from there and divert her attention in the same direction he was looking, locating the blonde from earlier in a…

“God!”

She exclaimed aloud, almost shrieking, and immediately covered her mouth and took a step back, fearing that they might have heard her.

She waited a few seconds for safety and then leaned back to have another look at that spectacular blonde in her bikini; one that left little to the imagination and much to the fantasy.

Those breasts were incredible, as were her abs, buttocks, and thighs, all in killer proportion.

_“What's wrong with you?”_ Lexa asked herself, feeling like a real voyeur.

The blonde was laughing, talking with a couple of boys standing next to one of those catering tables, and she was drinking what looked like a cocktail, decorated with a pick in the shape of an umbrella and with which she played absentmindedly.

Lexa wrinkled her nose, curious and perhaps somewhat surprised, when her “gaydar” was suddenly activated by one of the boys, the one with the darkest complexion.

The other boy, however, was clearly drooling watching the girls come out of the pool, showing off their incredible bodies; one of them was wearing a red Brazilian bikini and the other one a black mini bikini.

She didn't blame him; their bodies looked amazing in those bikinis.

Their body measurements were worthy of being on magazine covers and from their attitude, Lexa did not doubt that they were aware of it.

The shorter brunette had more Hispanic features her skin tone was much darker compared to her friend's fair complexion, with whom she began to dance to the rhythm of the music, attracting the attention of the group and encouraging them to join them in their somewhat uninhibited dance.

But what seemed most striking to Lexa was the energy that seemed to flow between them, the complicity, as if they had known each other forever, which was quite likely, something that Lexa was beginning to miss in her life.

The blonde left her cocktail on the table and joined them with a dance that Lexa found to be very sexy and a bit provocative, attracting everyone's attention, especially that of the boy to whom the Latina had whispered something earlier.

They all had a good rhythm, but the blonde was moving her hips in a way that made Lexa’s breath hitch.

That was when that same guy approached her from behind, surprising her and taking advantage of the fact that the blonde was distracted to place his hands on her waist. Then he lifted her off the ground like a feather, with a clear intention in his gaze.

_“Handsy much?”_ Lexa thought, wrinkling her nose.

“No! No! Bell! Let go! The water is cold! I swear you will pay for this…”

Lexa could hear her voice clearly, which made her heart skip a beat.

The blonde clung to the boy the best she could, making him fall with her into the water. They disappeared under it for a few seconds while the two friends high-fived victoriously and the others whistled before jumping into the water as well.

The other boy, whom she had seen talking with the blonde moments earlier, ran towards the pool and pulled his friend with him into the water.

_“Of course, she’s straight,”_ Lexa thought when she lost sight of the blonde and rolled her eyes, feeling slightly annoyed.

But... why should she care?

She shrugged and decided to look away, having had more than enough for one day.

Her mother entered the room just as she was about to close the window.

“What are you doing?” Becca asked, narrowing her gaze. “Spying on the neighbors? – she chuckled. - I brought you a veggie sandwich...”

“I’m not spying… It's just that... they were too noisy,” – Lexa replied, trying to sound casual as she closed the window. “Normal veggie sandwich or Spanish style?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Pfff… who do you take me for?” Becca smiled. “No tuna, of course.”

“Thank you,” she smiled, taking the tray in her hands.

“Don't stay up too late…” her mother added, turning toward the door.

Becca exited the room and Lexa sat up on the bed, her back propped against the pillow against the wall and with the tray on her lap.

She turned on the tv, resuming the episode of the series where she had fallen asleep earlier and enjoyed her sandwich, trying not to think about her first day at school; something that always made her feel a little nervous.

What if she and her new neighbor ended up in the same class?

That thought gave Lexa a tingling in her stomach that she did not want to attend to; at least, not consciously.


	3. The Princess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit longer chapter this time.  
> I hope you'll like it! <3
> 
> P.S. I'll check it for typos tomorrow...

“Come on Clarke ... Octavia and Raven are waiting!” Madi yelled as she took the stairs to the ground floor, jumping the steps two at a time.

She walked out the front door, leaving her sister still grappling with her own dilemma.

Clarke had spent the past ten minutes in front of the mirror, looking for flaws in her outfit and wondering if she should have chosen something different; something even looser than that dark red V-neck blouse with button placket she'd chosen after trying on all the tops in her closet. She wore flap pockets on the chest, long sleeves, which she had rolled up and fastened with a button tab and finally paired with dark gray skinny jeans and her beige Converse Chuck Taylor All Star shoes with contrast sidewall trim.

She was still getting used to the changes her body had experienced during the summer, especially in the chest area.

_“How did these get so big?”_ she wondered, remembering how it made her feel uncomfortable wearing her clothes from the previous year, which was why she had done a wardrobe makeover before the start of the new school year.

She frowned; that would be her new image and the sooner she adapted to it, the sooner the rest would as well.

When she left the house, she saw Madi already sitting in the back seat of Octavia's new navy blue Audi R8 convertible and Raven in the front passenger seat, putting on lip balm while checking her appearance in the visor mirror, always so flirtatious.

Abby was standing on the sidewalk, talking to Octavia, until Clarke approached the car, diverting her mother's attention from that conversation with her friend.

“That color looks good on you ...” she commented, inspecting Clarke's blouse, and raising her eyebrow slightly.

The blonde smiled and was about to thank her mother, thinking it was a compliment, but Abby kept talking instead.

“Not a very feminine cut, though... They could have made the pockets smaller; don't you think?”

Clarke clenched her jaw, annoyed by that final comment that was very typical and consistent with her mother’s character.

“Sure ... considering the gender pay gap, it's only logical for women's clothes to have smaller pockets as well,” Clarke replied in a rather sarcastic tone. “You know, for our teeny-tiny paychecks,” she added as she walked past her mother and got in the car.

She sat next to Madi and waved at her mother, who tried to hide the obvious shock on her face, caused by her daughter's sarcastic comment.

“See you later, Mrs. Griffin!” Octavia interrupted, cutting off the tension of the moment.

She said goodbye to her friend's mother as she hurried to her door to speed out of there in her new car before things got even more tense between them.

Madi looked at her older sister with a wide smile on her face and shook her head.

“You just had to say something back, huh?” she said as Octavia started the car and accelerated, leaving Abby behind.

Clarke simply shrugged, smiling back at her.

“So Madi ... Excited about starting your freshman year in high school?” Raven turned around to face the young girl.

“Sure ... not as much as my friend Rex, though” she chuckled. "I think puberty finally caught up with him this year."

“The cute Asian kid who has the biggest crush on Octavia?” Raven asked. “His face turns bright red every time she says hi to you guys,” she laughed.

“That's Rex,” Madi laughed too. “But I think he has a crush on both of you, actually ...”

“Ha!” Clarke exclaimed, joining the conversation. “How about that, Rey?”

“Have him call me in a couple of years,” Raven replied jokingly, winking at Madi.

Just as they were about to turn on Echo Lane, Clarke's gaze inevitably shifted to a girl with long brown hair who was riding a yellow penny board, skillfully gliding in the same direction in which they drove comfortably in Octavia's car.

She was wearing a black Vans backpack slung over one shoulder, a bright orange baseball cap backwards, a baggy square-patterned hoodie in orange, black, gray and turquoise, black skinny jeans, and classic canvas two-tone style low top Vans shoes in blue and yellow; sporting a style that caught Clarke’s attention.

“Cool penny board!” Madi exclaimed, perhaps a little louder than she had intended, startling Clarke, and drawing the attention of the girl on the sidewalk.

The girl looked up and her eyes met Clarke's as a subtle half-smile curved the corner of her lips.

The colorful outfit that had initially caught the blonde's attention was not nearly as impressive as that girl's facial features; big, plump lips, strong and elegant jaw, high cheekbones and very expressive big eyes, the color of which Clarke could not decipher well at that distance nor in that brief moment of eye contact between them.

However, an unusually warm sensation spread through Clarke's chest the moment her eyes met hers.

Who was that girl?

Was she on her way to school?

Perhaps she was the new neighbor? What did the Woods say their daughter's name was?

Alexa?

She wondered, turning her head almost involuntarily as they drove past her, leaving her behind, finding it difficult to tear her gaze away from her until she was just a dot in the distance. Only then could she turn her head forward again.

A few minutes later, Octavia parked in front of the school, after a drive that Clarke found especially short, thinking about that brunette and why her image seemed to have been etched in her mind.

The four girls got out of the car and started walking towards the entrance. Madi ran into some friends and stopped to say hello, while the three friends went inside the school, leaving Madi behind.

They turned quite a few heads as they strolled down the hallway, and while Raven and Octavia were clearly enjoying the attention, Clarke's mind seemed to be trapped elsewhere; for some strange reason, she could not stop thinking about the brunette she had seen earlier.

There was something about her that made Clarke feel ... Curious? Intrigued?

She tried to push those thoughts away and she focused on talking to a few of her classmates in the hall, catching up after not having seen them over the summer, until it was time to go to her first class.

“Hey, Princess!” Finn's voice startled Clarke just as she was about to enter the classroom. “Hey, girls!” He greeted Octavia and Raven as well.

They waved back and Raven raised her eyebrows playfully at Clarke, before following Octavia to one of the desks.

Clarke rolled her eyes and smiled before turning her attention back to Finn.

“Hey, Finn ...”

“How was the party yesterday?” The boy asked, running his fingers through his dark brown hair.

“Lame…” Clarke shrugged. “The afterparty was pretty cool, though…”

“Yeah, I saw your Instagram stories ... Maybe next year I'll finally make it on your mother's guest list,” he winked.

“Um… yeah…”

“Griffin!”

The conversation was suddenly interrupted by Clarke's Literature teacher.

“Good morning, Mr. Kane,” she greeted him politely.

“Ready for Literature class? This year, it is going to be ‘lit’!” He laughed, obviously pleased with his attempt to understand and adapt to the lingo he believed to be spoken among young people.

Clarke and Finn smiled somewhat awkwardly.

They pretended to find his wordplay funny, trying not to hurt his feelings, especially since Marcus Kane was a good man and an excellent teacher; one of the best, although he was not funny at all.

Yet everyone loved him just the way he was; an endangered kind of teacher, indeed.

He was a bohemian, passionate about romantic literature, a loner who loved his work and surrounded himself with his students, on whom he enjoyed passing his teachings with the same unbridled passion with which he lived his life.

For him, everything was poetry, a vision that was transmitted in his appearance and his perhaps somewhat carefree style. He had long hair that he kept combed back, a gray beard and wore jeans, a casual suit jacket and a cotton T-shirt underneath; something about him left no doubt that he was a bachelor.

“Looking forward to it, Mr. Kane ...” Clarke replied as she noticed the Headmaster right behind him, walking towards them.

As he approached them, she could see that he was not alone; someone was walking beside him, keeping slightly several steps behind. Suddenly, she recognized the hoodie that had caught her attention earlier and that stunning brunette, holding it in her hand.

She was wearing a loose-fitting black T-shirt with the white Vans logo across the chest and her head was tilted slightly downward, staring at the ground.

Clarke's heart began to beat rapidly in her chest; she felt nervous and excited at the same time when Mr. Jaha's deep voice interrupted the silence.

“Marcus,” he spoke, and Mr. Kane turned to look at him. “We have a new student at Memorial High ... This is Lexa Woods," he said, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. “I've been told she's an aspiring author and is eager to take your class, isn't that right, Lexa?”

_“It’s her… my new neighbor…”_ Clarke thought.

“Nice to meet you, Lexa!” Mr. Kane welcomed her with a firm handshake and the brunette gave him a sheepish smile. “You’re in junior year?”

“Yes ...” the brunette answered in a low voice.

“Collins ... aren't you late for your ...?” Kane asked, looking at Finn.

“Uh ... History class, yes!” The boy flashed his white teeth and winked at Clarke before walking away from them.

“Alright, then! Griffin, why don't you help your new classmate find a seat?” Mr. Kane suggested. “I’ll be right there.”

Clarke nodded, and when she looked back at Lexa, she felt her big eyes on her.

_“Green ... Her eyes are green,”_ she thought.

“Go on, then…” Mr. Jaha gave Lexa a gentle pat on the back, encouraging her to enter the classroom.

A subtle smile curved Lexa's lips as she nodded and began to walk toward Clarke.

The blonde looked away for a moment and as soon as Lexa stood next to her, she couldn't help but glance over her shoulder to appreciate the perfect side profile of her new classmate.

As they were entering the classroom, Lexa turned her head, feeling intrigued by that blonde who had invaded her thoughts the previous day during that _special moment_ ; the girl whom she had been watching from her window like a voyeur and who was now staring back at her.

_“Blue ... Her eyes are blue …”_ she thought, losing herself in the depth of that color as she remembered the exact moment in which she had wondered about the color of her eyes.

“Um ... I'm Clarke,” the blonde said and gave her a soft smile.

“Lexa ...” She returned the smile before realizing that Mr. Jaha had said her name moments earlier. “Um ... But I guess you already knew that ...” she added and bit her lower lip nervously.

Clarke noticed that the brunette was nervous and probably a little shy, which she found so adorable that she felt the need to make her feel welcome, as if she needed to protect her somehow.

“I like your name,” Clarke's smile widened. “And ... your accent too ... Australian, right?”

“Thanks ...” Lexa smiled back, pleasantly surprised by Clarke's comment. “Yeah, how did you ...?”

“Hey, Clarkie! Who is your new friend?” Raven walked over to them and leaned on Clarke's shoulder with her forearm.

“This is Lexa Woods, our new classmate ... And ... my new neighbor,” Clarke replied, noticing how Lexa's eyes widened, looking surprised at the fact that she knew they were neighbors.

_“Had she caught her spying on her through the window?”_ the brunette wondered, feeling slightly flushed.

“Lexa, this is Raven.”

“Awesome! We were wondering when we were gonna meet you!” Raven said, giving her a big smile. “Welcome, Lexa!”

“Thank you,” Lexa smiled back, grateful for the warm welcome.

Before they could get to know each other a little better, Mr. Kane entered the classroom and asked everyone to take a seat.

There were a few empty seats left, so Clarke sat in the same one as the previous year, next to her friend Wells, while Lexa walked to the other side of the classroom to sit next to Murphy.

Mr. Kane took attendance, leaning on his desk and facing the students as he jotted down the rare absences on the first day of class, until he read Lexa’s name.

He stopped to officially introduce her to the rest of the students and asked her to tell them a little about herself.

Murphy rolled his eyes and spoke in a low voice.

“As if we were kids ...”

Lexa made a face. She hated having to do that.

Her cheeks felt red hot as she noticed all eyes on her, especially a pair of blue ones, belonging to a certain blonde on the other side of the class.

“Um ... well ... I'm ... I'm ... Lexa ...” she said even though Mr. Kane had already said her name moments earlier, which made her feel a bit stupid again for repeating herself. “Um ... I'm from Australia ... but my last residence was in Madrid ...”

“Madrid, Spain?” Kane intervened, lending her a hand when he noticed the brunette's shyness.

She nodded.

“So ... you must be fluent in Spanish, then?” Kane continued.

“I guess ... I mean, yes ...” Lexa replied, feeling somewhat confused by the question.

“Good! Interesting ... the Spanish teacher will be very pleased with you, without a doubt ... any hobbies?”

“Um…” she hesitated. “I like skateboarding ...”

“I'm afraid we don't have after-school skateboarding classes, Ms. Woods ...” Kane said thoughtfully, scratching his beard, and prompting laughter from some of her new classmates. “But we have many others ... I am sure you will find an activity that you like ... you can check out the list on the notice board at the end of the hall ...”

Lexa nodded and sat down immediately as Kane encouraged her to take her seat again, but she couldn't help but glance at that blonde who hadn't stopped staring at her the whole time.

Clarke smiled, causing Lexa to quickly take her eyes away from her and look at her desk.

However, a half-smile curved her lips in response.

“So… you skate, huh?” Murphy whispered. “Cool!” he added with a smile, looking at Lexa.

“So ...” Kane cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the students. “I know you hope I won't push you too hard on this first day of class, but I would like to check if you did that reading that I recommended for this summer.

There was a little commotion.

“But you said it wasn't mandatory,” Jasper protested in his own defense and probably in defense of a few others who clearly hadn't done it either, judging by their expressions.

“Mr. Jordan ... I said it was recommended ...”

“Which is not a synonym for ‘mandatory’,” the dark-haired boy replied gracefully, with his aviator glasses placed on his head.

Lexa looked at her classmate and had no doubt that he was the funny one in the group.

Kane frowned.

“Well ... technically, you're right,” he replied, tilting his head. “However, the reason I recommended the book was to give you a small taste of what we will be studying in the next two school years ... We will start with some great American poets, writers and playwrights," he added, looking at Lexa, “whose works are collected here ...” he said, raising the book in pocket format in the air, with the title _‘The 25 best poems of romanticism’_. “Some of the works are by the most eminent British authors, who we will study next year. Has anyone read anything?”

Nathan raised his hand, drawing Lexa's attention. It was the same dark-skinned boy she saw at the party talking to the blonde and that had activated her _gaydar_.

“Miller ... I didn't expect anything less from you ...” Kane smiled. “Anything you liked in particular?”

“Yes ... one poem by Lord Byron.”

“Very well ... Could you read it for us, please?”

Miller nodded, glancing quickly at Jackson, who simply smiled, avoiding the boy’s gaze.

Lexa squinted. Could it be ...?

Nathan opened the book, found the poem, and began to read, intoning the words.

_“Deep in my soul that tender secret dwells,  
Lonely and lost to light for evermore,  
Save when to thine my heart responsive swells,  
Then trembles into silence as before…”_

Clarke took advantage of Nathan's reading to ask her friend Wells why he hadn't been to her mother's Labor Day party. They had barely seen each other over the summer, and she had hoped to see him there.

“Hey ... I missed you yesterday,” she said to him softly, drawing his attention with a tap on his arm.

“Yeah ... I stayed at my mum's ...”

“Oh ... how are things?” she asked with some doubt.

Everyone knew that his parents, Headmaster Jaha and his wife, had been separated for several months, but Clarke and Wells hadn't talked about it properly.

“Dunno ...” he said, avoiding Clarke's persistent gaze. “I feel like my dad has become even more controlling now," he finally replied.

_“There, in its centre' a sepulchral lamp_ _  
Burns the slow flame, eternal, but unseen;  
Which not the darkness of despair can damp,  
Though vain its ray as it had never been…_ _”_

“That sucks ...” Clarke said, putting her hand on his forearm.

“Yeah ... But at least my mom’s happy ... I swear I've never seen her smile so much before.”

“I'm happy for her,” Clarke smiled. “And I'm sure ...”

“Could someone tell me what Lord Byron is talking about in this poem?” The teacher asked, interrupting the conversation between the friends when he noticed the distracted blonde. “Griffin?”

Clarke winced at the sound of her name, aware that she had not heard any of the poem Nathan had read. She opened her mouth, ready to say anything she could think of, even if it was wrong.

“It speaks of the desire and importance of remaining in the memories and hearts of those who love us when we are no longer alive ...” Lexa intervened calmly, barely lifting her eyes from the desk.

Clarke looked at the brunette as Marcus cocked a smile, obviously pleased with the answer.

She gazed at her with wide eyes and doubly surprised; on one hand, because of the easiness with which Lexa had responded and, on the other hand, because she wanted to believe that she was doing it to offer her help.

“Very good, Woods!” Kane congratulated Lexa and then looked at Clarke condescendingly. “Lord Byron in this poem does not fear death, but oblivion ... Once we die, what are we if not a memory?”

Kane rambled for at least twenty minutes about the meaning of that poem, about love and death, oblivion and memories, and how he thought that once our soul was relieved by death, we could only hope that someone would have loved us enough to remember us as long as they’d live.

The bell that announced the end of the class startled everyone, making them jump from their desks.

“For homework for next class, I would like you to choose a poem and write your interpretation of it ...” he said, raising his voice above the noise of the chairs and tables, making sure that his students heard him properly.

“Talk later?” Clarke asked Wells, hastily grabbing her backpack. “We can hang out, if you like, after class ...”

She needed to reach out to the brunette and thank her for her help, although the real reason was because since she saw her that morning, she hadn't been able to stop feeling drawn to her in some special way.

“Cool, yeah,” Wells replied.

“Awesome.”

However, when she turned around, she could see Gaia leaning on the brunette's desk, talking to her effusively, and within seconds, Lexa was smiling as she grabbed her hoodie and backpack, and left the classroom, accompanied by the girl with short, blond hair and dark skin.

She was frustrated.

“Looks like our class president beat you to it…”

Clarke turned her head to the side, finding Murphy right behind her as he rested his head on her shoulder.

The blonde frowned but said nothing and moved toward the door. Murphy hurried, following his friend.

“She seems cool ...” he added, walking beside her with his arms behind his back.

“Who?” Clarke asked, trying to hide her recent interest in Lexa.

Murphy stepped forward and stood in front of the blonde with a mischievous smile on his lips, so typical for him, and a mysterious look in his eyes before continuing to walk.

“You know who ... princess,” the boy replied, and Clarke rolled her eyes at the nickname her friends had given her many years ago and that some of them still insisted on using.

But not Murphy. He always did it ironically.

“See ya,” he added, turning around.

Murphy took the stairs to the ground floor and Clarke turned left down the hall to the math classroom.

However, she could not see them inside. Where had they gone?

* * *

((A few moments earlier ...))

_“Shit ...”_ Lexa swore mentally, rubbing her forehead.

Why hadn't she been able to keep her mouth shut? Now everyone would think she was a nerd and the teacher’s pet.

It wasn't that she wanted to hide that she was intelligent and that one of her favorite subjects was Language Arts, but she would have preferred to keep a low profile on her first day of class.

However, she had felt an urge that had led her to speak up even when she shouldn't have, because seeing Clarke in distress made her feel the need to come to her aid and protect her.

“Hey ... Lexa, right?”

Lexa looked up from her desk, finding an attractive African American girl in front of her, flashing her white smile in contrast to her dark eyes.

She had very short hair, dyed blonde and carefully combed forward, and a small piercing in her nose; a silver earring placed around her nasal septum that emphasized the structure of her nose, within the round symmetry of her face.

Lexa noticed her trendy style at the same time her _gaydar_ was being activated as it had happened with that boy Miller.

The girl was wearing a black cotton V-neck T-shirt, a khaki green military-style parka, and high-waisted black skinny jeans.

“Um… yes.”

“Welcome ... my name is Gaia ...” she said, widening her smile. “I'm the class president.”

“Oh ... hey…”

“Do you have math now?”

“Hm ...” Lexa weighed in, rummaging for the schedule until she found it in the front pocket of her backpack and looked at it. “Yes.”

“Do you mind if I tag along? You might need some help finding the classrooms on your first day…”

“Sure ...” Lexa replied automatically. “But I need to go to my locker first to drop off some things ...”

“I’ll come with.”

Gaia widened her smile as she straightened up, taking a step back, and waited until Lexa got up from her seat and stood next to her.

They left the classroom and walked together to the ground floor to the locker that had been assigned to Lexa, noticing some curious looks along the way that did not seem to bother the other girl.

“I’m sure you'll like Memorial High ...” Gaia said, looking at Lexa's side profile.

“I guess…”

“Do you like sports?”

“Yeah ... I like basketball.”

“Really?”

Lexa nodded.

“Would you like to play for Varsity? It's our basketball team.”

“Sure, but ... do you think they would take me?”

“I can help you with that ... Indra, the coach, is my mother ...” Gaia confirmed, cocking her head.

“Nice!”

“She's quite strict and takes her job way too seriously ... but she's a good coach ... how about I take you to her?”

“Really? I’d appreciate it…”

“Of course! I'm glad to be of help ...” she winked at her. “We can go to her after school.”

They reached the locker, where Lexa left her hoodie and then made their way to the classroom, hurrying to get there before the math teacher would close the door on them.

“Here we are ...”

Gaia stood at the door of the classroom, where most of her classmates were already seated and waiting for the class to start.

She gestured at Lexa, encouraging her to walk through the door.

Lexa entered and immediately located Clarke in the back, sitting at a desk by the window. She was alone and looked a bit absent, leaning with her chin on one hand and her arm resting on the table.

Almost as if their subconsciousness sensed each other, the blonde tilted her head, meeting Lexa’s green eyes fixed on her. A timid smile cropped up on her face as she tilted her body to the side, looking as if she was inviting her to sit next to her.

But before Lexa could decide whether to take that step or not, Octavia sat next to Clarke at the same time Gaia pulled her up to a couple of unoccupied desks at the far end and center row of the class.

Clarke's smile turned into a grin. She tried to hide and pretend that she did not care about the fact that she had failed both times she had tried to get close to the brunette.

It shouldn’t matter anyway, since it was only the first day… Plus, she was her new neighbor, so she would have more opportunities to get closer to her.

But then why was she so eager to get to her?

“What's wrong, blondie?” Octavia interrupted the flow of her thoughts, finding Clarke somewhat uncomfortable.

“I was thinking about Wells ...” she lied.

“Yeah ... divorces are fucked up…” Clarke nodded. “How’s he doing?”

“Good, I guess… we didn’t really talk much... But we’ll hang out later.”

At that moment, the math teacher Russell Lightbourne entered the class, closing the door behind him. Unlike Marcus Kane, Russell was a tough nut to crack, far more strict and less forgiving than the Literature teacher.

He was a serious, haughty man. His hair was short and gray, as well as his beard and he was always dressed formally, using elegant suits, usually in dark colors.

Gaia brought Lexa up to date while Russell took attendance.

He welcomed the new student as he read her name almost at the end of the list and with no time to lose, he began to briefly explain the syllabus and the objectives that were to be achieved in order to pass the subject, just before he took up the last part of the previous year's lesson, trying to refresh their memory.

During math class, Gaia gave Lexa a short history of her classmates, their relationships, and her opinion on some of them, including Clarke.

“The latest rumor is that Clarke is dating Finn,” she stated.

“Finn?” Lexa asked, thinking of the dark-haired boy who had thrown Clarke in the pool at the party.

“He’s a senior ... he has dark brown hair, a little longer ... and he's the Mustangs’ fullback” Gaia added.

“Tall and dark-skinned?” Lexa couldn’t help but ask, feeling curious.

“That's Bellamy ... Octavia's brother ...” Gaia replied, looking at the brunette sitting next to Clarke. “He is also a senior and they are good friends ...”

Clarke looked back at that moment, trying to make eye contact with the brunette, but Lexa looked away, feeling slightly disappointed to confirm that, indeed, the blonde _played for the straight team_.

It reminded her of having that same feeling when she met Costia, thinking she was straight; luckily she was glad to discover she had been wrong, as she was now her girlfriend and she couldn’t wait to go home and talk to her.

Clarke, however, felt uneasy; suddenly she was concerned about what Gaia might be telling her. She wished for Lexa to get to know her for herself rather than through someone else's eyes and hopefully they could become friends.

* * *

After class, Clarke tried again, but Gaia had monopolized the brunette, dragging her outside before the blonde even got up from her desk.

She didn’t see her for the rest of the day, so she assumed that the brunette had a different schedule than hers, which only contributed to her frustration.

Once classes were over, Clarke decided to take refuge in the school gym. She didn’t have practice that day, but either way she knew that Indra had never objected to her being there whenever she needed to blow off some steam on the court.

Feeling the rough touch of the ball in her hands, the pressure, running and shooting had always helped her to disconnect from everything that bothered her, perhaps because it was the only way she could feel closer to her dreams.

She grabbed her sportswear from the locker and made her way to the locker room where she changed from her red blouse and skinny jeans to a black Nike Performance Dry Crossover T-shirt with the white logo in the center, a gray sports bra underneath, a pair of black pants matching the shirt with the same logo in white on one of his legs and her black Nike sneakers with a white sole.

The gym was unusually quiet. She guessed it was probably because it was the first day of class, but she welcomed it, thinking she would have more space for her and her thoughts.

She took one of the balls and dribbled for a while before she did a layup shot, bouncing the ball off the backboard and into the basket.

* * *

“Why don't you go wait inside?” Gaia suggested. “I'll go get my mom ... she’s probably in her office, preparing for the practice tomorrow ...”

Lexa nodded, pushing the red bar on the door handle that led to the covered basketball court.

She immediately recognized that characteristic sound of the basketball against the hardwood and saw a girl in sports clothes with her blonde hair tied in a high ponytail, preparing to launch a long shot to the hoop and whom she did not recognize until she was close enough to find out it was ...

Clarke.

Her new neighbor and the girl who had distracted her thoughts in more than one occasion.

She was surprised to find her there as she would have expected to be on the cheerleaders’ squad rather than seeing her on the court, dribbling the ball.

Lexa raised her eyebrows.

She had to admit that seeing her in that white dress and then in her bikini was sexy, but not as sexy as seeing her in those sportswear, perhaps because that new image was starting to change the first impression she had had of Clarke; a typical posh girl who probably behaved like a little, spoiled princess.

And now she was thinking she might have misjudged her.

She observed her in silence, resting her eyes on the tense muscles of her arms, feeling her level of concentration as she looked up at the basket, with her legs slightly bent at the knees, preparing for the throw.

She jumped as she straightened her elbow and pushed her wrist, rolling the ball off her fingertips toward the basket.

It made a perfect arc in the air and entered the hoop without touching it. A long, clean shot, her first rainbow shot of the season that left Lexa speechless.

“Yes!” The blonde celebrated with a fist in the air and then heard someone clapping softly right behind her.

She turned around and ... there she was; Lexa was looking at her with a smile and a spark in her eyes that made Clarke's breath hitch.

“Nice rainbow shot!”

Clarke was speechless for a few seconds but reacted in time not to look like an idiot.

“Thanks ... I guess ... Um ... what are you doing here?” she asked, hiding her surprise and the blush on her cheeks before she turned to pick up the ball.

“I…” Lexa opened her mouth, but Gaia entered the gym just before she could respond, accompanied by Indra.

“Griffin ..." Indra said, looking at Clarke. “Ready for the new season?”

“Of course.”

“Good ... I will see you tomorrow at practice...” the coach replied and then looked at Lexa. “So, you are the new student ... Lexa, right?”

“Yes.”

“Gaia says you're interested in basketball.”

The brunette nodded, noticing the surprise reflected in the blonde's wide eyes.

“Let's talk, then ... follow me ...”

Lexa thought Indra looked so serious she was almost scary, and as she started walking behind her, she glanced at Clarke one more time, feeling especially excited about the idea of starting to train with the blonde, who continued to dribble the ball and throw shots at the hoop.


	4. Carrot Cake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I know I've been away, but I've been terribly busy lately...  
> I've finally managed to edit the two chapters I had written weeks ago, and I am posting them today.  
> Let me know what you think of the story so far!
> 
> S.

Wells walked into the gym, looking for Clarke, just as she was doing a perfect layup; of all the possible places she could be found, the gym was the first place he looked, knowing it was one of the blonde's favorite hideouts.

Upon seeing her, he stopped at the spot and quickly pulled out his SLR camera, a newly released 18-140mm black Nikon D5600, to capture some snapshots of the blonde as she pushed the ball with the palm of her hand outstretched, gently laying it near the basket.

Wells figured those photos could be perfect for the article they were preparing in the school magazine, for which he had been the main photographer since freshman year.

He did not particularly like basketball, perhaps because he had always considered himself bad at sports in general; except for chess, which his father had taught him to play and that he practiced on regular basis.

Nevertheless, he watched almost every game because taking pictures and handing them over to Gaia, the editor, was one of his many tasks, but perhaps his closeness to Clarke had also contributed to him starting to appreciate the techniques of the sport.

He smiled behind his camera with some shyness as he remembered how the blonde had struggled for years, trying to pass some of her enthusiasm onto him, and although she had partly succeeded, he had always preferred to stay at the other side of the camera where he felt much safer; just as he had failed in his attempt to get Clarke excited about chess.

He had managed to get her to play it properly and although Clarke claimed that for a sport it was 'way too boring', Wells knew she was only saying it because she hadn't managed to beat him once, which must have been frustrating for her.

She was quite competitive, and she showed it most when she was out on the court.

They were not much alike, but they were great friends, nevertheless.

They had met in kindergarten, Clarke being the first to approach, as Wells would have never taken that first step; he had always been too shy while Clarke was quite the opposite - cheerful, outgoing, determined - and within a month, they had become inseparable.

Their friendship had led their parents to become friends as well, and although from that moment on they had seen each other almost daily, at this new stage in their lives their circle had widened, slightly separating their paths.

Still, Clarke remained one of the few people who understood him well; she knew how he had felt for years and how difficult it had been to please his father, for whom nothing was ever enough.

Thelonious Jaha was a man of strong convictions and with a tendency to control absolutely everything around him, to the point of making their lives impossible; so much so that his wife had finally abandoned him.

However, Wells had to continue tolerating his quirks, especially lately, as he had become even more manipulative and perfectionist.

Wells would have liked going to the Griffins' party, but the truth was that he had preferred spending that time with his mother with whom he had a better relationship, especially after the divorce.

And maybe it was because they had not seen each other during that time, he could see something different in Clarke; something he hadn't noticed until now.

She had visibly matured.

Now she was much more...

He made a grimace, looking for the right word.

Adult...

More... woman.

With the training shirt on, that change was barely noticeable, but upon seeing her that morning in her red blouse, Wells could not deny that Clarke was now more attractive than ever.

He had to look away from her, trying not to get her attention, because knowing her as he did, that change was probably something she would still be getting used to, but also because he didn't want Clarke to find out that he too had changed and had started looking at her differently, even before the summer break.

He could not remember if he had noticed girls before; maybe he had been too focused on his studies and hobbies, so he was not aware of the exact moment he had started looking at Clarke _that_ _way_.

Wells had taken advantage of the time spent at his mother's place to work on his body, achieving good results, and noticed that his self-esteem had also grown without the constant pressure from his father.

So far, however, no one seemed to have noticed his change.

Clarke turned around, discovering Wells just several feet away, looking at her through the lens. The boy slightly winced upon seeing her and lowered the camera, forcing a smile and showing his white teeth, contrasting the color of his dark skin, so different from hers and that had been the first thing that had caught the blonde's attention when they were children. Of course, never as a cause for mockery or rejection, but quite the opposite.

The features of his face had encouraged young Clarke's curiosity; his nose was flat, his lips thick and his hair, in an even darker tone, had that wool-like texture and back then, it looked to her as if it was curling into hundreds tiny snails.

His dark eyes were very expressive and deep, only Clarke sometimes still did not know how to interpret them.

He was saying he was fine, but how could he be after his parents' divorce?

“Hey!” she greeted him, recovering the ball.

“Hello... are you done?”

“Yes... where do you wanna go?”

“Um... Memorial Mall?”

“Cool...” Clarke smiled. “Just give me five minutes, okay? I have to change...” she added, turning to return the ball in its place.

“Sure... I'll wait for you in the parking lot.”

Clarke walked over to Wells and together they left the basketball court.

“By the way... did you take a photo of me?” she asked, watching Wells put the camera back in his bag.

“Oh... That... Well... we’re preparing an article for the magazine...” he explained with a nervous smile.

“Ah, of course,” she said distractedly, smiling back. “I won't be long...” she added as she walked towards the locker room while Wells went in the opposite direction to the exit.

* * *

After taking a quick shower, Clarke put on some clean underwear that she always kept in her locker, the skinny jeans she had been wearing earlier, and an AC/DC army green T-shirt she found in her locker. She did not know since when it had been there, but luckily it smelled good and was baggy enough to make her feel a little more comfortable than the one she had gone to school with that morning.

She dried her hair well with the towel and left it loose to finish air drying.

In the parking lot, she located Wells looking at something carefully on his camera screen, leaning against the car, a special edition Jeep Grand Cherokee with 20-inch wheels, glossy black finish and some details in the same dark color.

It was the last model introduced in May of that year in the Houston car dealership salons and sold by Clarke's father to principal Jaha, addressing his need to show off his great purchasing power.

Upon seeing her, Wells reacted by putting away the camera in his bag.

“Wow... principal Jaha let you use his new car?” she asked, looking at that monster car in front of her.

Wells shrugged, avoiding looking at the blonde directly as she turned around to appreciate the dimensions of the vehicle before they both got in the car.

“Must be feeling guilty about the divorce...” he weighed a few moments before starting the engine.

Clarke was about to say something when her cell phone rang and Wells couldn't help but glance at the illuminated screen, where he could see Finn's name moments before his friend accepted the call, placing the phone on her ear.

He had heard the rumor about Clarke dating Finn, which bothered him in part because he might have expected her to have told him about it, although the truth was that she hadn't even hinted that she liked the guy.

The dark-haired boy turned his head ahead, careful while driving through the intersection, but still paying attention to the conversation between Clarke and the Mustang defense player.

**_Phone_ ** **_call_ **

_Clarke_ _:  
_“Hi...”

 _Finn:  
_“Hello princess... wanna hang out this afternoon?”

Clarke looked at Wells.

 _Clarke_ _:  
_“I can't... I already have plans...”

 _Finn:  
_“Going out with the girls?”

 _Clarke_ _:  
_“No ... I’m actually with Wells.”

There was a slight silence on the other side.

 _Finn:  
_“Oh... Okay...”

 _Clarke_ _:_  
“Talk later?” Clarke suggested.

 _Finn:  
_“Sure...”

 _Clarke_ _:  
_“Bye...”

The blonde quickly ended the call, feeling a little uncomfortable. Wells was her friend, and yet...

“Um... I suppose you've heard...” she said, noticing his expression.

“So... is it true?” Wells asked, looking at Clarke out of the corner of his eye.

“Well... we went out a few times... we're still getting to know each other... but it's nothing official,” she explained.

“Do you like him?” he cleared his throat before asking, almost in a whisper.

“I guess...” Clarke replied without giving it too much importance.

Wells looked ahead, turning his eyes completely away from his friend.

“Then I'm happy for you,” he forced a smile.

For the next five minutes silence fell between them; Clarke pondered over how she felt about Finn and whether it bothered him that she was hanging out with Wells, while her friend was distracted by his own thoughts until they reached the shopping center not that far from Cobblestone Drive.

The Memorial Mall was always the first choice for Clarke and her friends, partly because of its proximity, and also because it was a fairly equipped shopping center to do all the necessary purchases and have fun at the same time.

It was obvious that it was a relatively old site that had been remodeled several times over the years, offering a variety of independent shops and restaurants.

There was a large square, although not as beautiful and impressive compared to the towers of the Memorial Hospital, which was accessed by a bridge that connected both venues. There was also a huge two-story carousel, an incredible skating rink where a local hockey team had practice, and a huge fireplace with comfortable seats in front of it.

It also had a very versatile food area, an exclusive area for coffee where the popular Starbucks could be found, and the Mall Cinema, which were the places most visited by teenagers.

They left the car in the parking lot and went inside, following Clarke's suggestion to visit Starbucks where the blonde ordered a Spearmint green tea, a Frappuccino for Wells and carrot cake for them both.

Wells shifted uncomfortably in front of Clarke, not quite sure how to start the conversation as she cut her slice of carrot cake into small pieces with the fork, seeming distracted by her own inner dilemma.

“So... How was the party?” He asked at last.

“Boring... as always…”

“I didn't miss out on anything special, then...” he said, and his lips parted as he watched Clarke bring a piece of the cake to her mouth.

“Is it new?”

“What?” Wells frowned.

“The camera...” Clarke specified, pointing to the bag he had left on the table.

“Oh... yes...” he replied. “My mother bought it for me.”

“What happened to the old one?” Clarke asked, frowning.

“I broke it...” replied the boy, tilting his head a little downwards.

“Ouch! That must have hurt... You loved that camera...”

“Well... it was my first professional one, but this one is much better,” he said, shrugging.

“So... what did you do during the summer?” Clarke continued with the questions.

“Nothing much...” Wells answered, blushing.

Could it be that Clarke had not noticed that he himself had matured too?

He wondered, feeling slightly disappointed.

They chatted for a while, exchanging short questions and answers, and catching up on their boring summer days until Wells got a call from his father.

Clarke looked at him as he spoke to Director Jaha, feeling calm to see that he did not seem to be handling the situation as badly as she had expected and that things, at first glance, did not seem very different from what they used to be before the divorce.

“I have to go...” Wells said after ending the call.

“Yeah... me too...” Clarke sighed.

Wells took her home and then returned to his father's place, who subjected him to strict interrogation to find out what he had done, with whom he had done it and he even wanted to know everything they had talked about, which put the boy in a bad mood apart from making him feel embarrassed.

* * *

Lexa felt quite animated after talking to Indra, the coach. She believed in herself, and even though she could already imagine herself on the team, she did not want to count her chickens just yet, at least not before the tryouts the following day.

She made her way back to the court, perhaps hoping to find her new classmate and neighbor there, thinking that maybe she could give her some tips for the tryouts, which she had obviously faced successfully before.

After confirming that the blonde was not there, Lexa picked up her penny board, slightly discouraged, and went home, stopping first at a bookstore that she found by chance not far from the school where she bought the book that Mr. Kane had recommended in class earlier that day.

Upon arrival, she was surprised to have found her father home already, sitting in the living room and reading the newspaper in a relaxed attitude with a glass of cognac in his hand, while her mother was in the kitchen preparing something delicious; a conclusion based on the exquisite smell that invaded her nostrils as soon as she entered through the garage door.

“Hey, Dad! Hi, Mom!”

“Hello! How was your first day of school?” Augustus asked, sitting on the couch, and raising his eyes from his newspaper.

“Um... Fine...” said Lexa, walking straight into the kitchen, attracted by whatever her mother was cooking.

She sat quietly on the kitchen island and observed all the display of ingredients that had ended up mixed in various containers, noticing her mother's expectant and perhaps somewhat curious gaze.

“Just fine?”

“Hm…” Lexa put her finger in one of those containers before taking it to her mouth, savoring the homemade tomato sauce that gently stroked her palate with the right touch of green pepper. “Yes... It was fine... This is to die for, by the way...”

Then she took out her cell phone and typed a quick message to Costia to let her know she was home.

“You seem... chipper,” Becca commented.

Lexa shrugged and dipped her finger in the second container, this time discovering an amazing cream, made of chocolate, hazelnuts and biscuit.

Augustus accompanied them in the kitchen and copied Lexa, taking his finger to the hazelnut and biscuit cream as well.

“Did you like the school then?... Ouch!” he groaned when Becca slapped his hand. “Hey! Not fair... this is some serious double standard!”

“Remind me again… was it Lexa who had high glucose and cholesterol levels in the latest blood test?” Becca defended herself, raising an eyebrow.

Lexa chuckled.

“The school is not bad... they have a girls basketball team and I decided to try my luck at the tryouts tomorrow…”

“Oh! That's excellent!” her father replied excitedly. “It's a good way to integrate and make friends...”

“Yes... I liked the literature teacher... By the way, I had to buy a book...” she reported, taking the new book out of her backpack. “The math teacher, though... ugh...” she winced, making Becca laugh.

“And your schoolmates?”

“They seem cool, I guess... Although, I didn't have time to talk to anyone in particular... well, except with Gaia, the class president... she was the one who took me to meet the coach... who, by the way, is her mother...” she grinned.

Becca looked at her daughter carefully, discovering a new kind of energy in her, much more positive than the previous day.

“I'm glad...” she said. “Would you like to give me a hand with the dessert?” she asked, trying to take advantage of Lexa’s good mood.

“What are you making?”

“Ferrero Rocher cupcakes… and carrot cake.”

“Mmm... that sounds delicious...” Lexa said right before she noticed an incoming text message on her phone. “But... I think I’ll stay in my room...” she added as she got off the kitchen island. “Let me know when it’s ready.”

Lexa ran upstairs with no time to waste and closed the door of her room behind her. She dropped her backpack on the floor and threw herself on the bed with the phone in her hand.

**_Text_ ** **_messages_ **

_Costia (3:29 pm):_

“Hey! How was your day?”

_Lexa (3:30 pm):_

“Not bad at all... 🙂 Better than I expected... Yours?”

_Costia (3:30 pm):_

“Awesome 😄 Mine too!”

_Lexa (3:30 pm):_

“👏🏻👏🏻 Skype? But I have to warn you that my parents are at home... 🙄”

_Costia (3:32 pm):_

“I’m sorry, babe… I’m not home yet…”

_Lexa (3:32 pm):_

“😑”

_Costia (3:34 pm):_

“Talk later? 😉”

_Lexa (3:34 pm):_

“I'll wait for you 😘”

_Costia (3:40 pm):_

“😘”

Lexa sighed slightly disappointed. She had hoped to talk to her girlfriend and tell her in detail how her day had gone and how excited she was about the upcoming tryouts.

She got out of bed and sat in front of the computer and logged into her Instagram account; she figured a little social life wouldn't hurt.

She took a look at the first photos that appeared on her newsfeed; most of them were of profiles promoting skateboarding and clothing she had been following for a long time, but among them, she came upon a photo that made her feel a bit nostalgic; a photo of her friend Nico riding his surfboard.

She double tapped on it and left a comment that Nico responded to just a few moments later, making her smile. It had been a while since they had caught some waves together, but the memory of it was still fresh in her mind.

Her lips curled into a smile; a smile that disappeared when she noticed an update in the upper left corner.

Costia was starting a live video.

She made a grimace and without thinking twice tapped on the live broadcast.

**_Video_ **

_Costia_ _:_  
“Come on, Amaia! You must drink it all...”

 _Lucia:_  
“Yeah, come on! On three...”

 _Amaia:_  
“All of it? I can't... I'm already wasted...”

 _Costia_ _:_  
“Haha oh... come on... don't be a baby!”

 _Amaia:_  
“Do I get a reward if I do it?”

 _Lucia:_  
“Uuuuuu...”

 _Costia_ _:_  
“Drink up, honey... And then we'll see...”

Lexa's eyes widened as she observed Costia and Lucia encouraging Amaia to drink from a bottle, cut at the bottom and connected at the other end to a long, flexible rubber tube.

Amaia was sitting down and Costia was holding the tube, determined to put it in her mouth in an attitude that set off an alarm in Lexa, while Lucia was holding a bottle of vodka prepared to fill the empty bottle as she was recording the video.

Amaia accepted the challenge and leaned back on the sofa. Costia carried the tube into her mouth and held it while Lucia filled the bottle.

Several people encouraged them, sending their messages that were displayed on the live video, some of them from people that Lexa also knew.

**_Video:_ **

_Costia_ _:_  
“Drink, drink, drink, drink...”

 _Lucia:_  
“Yeah... that's my girl!”

 _Costia_ _:_  
“Wow! You're awesome...”

 _Amaia:_  
“I'm ready for my award now...” she said, cleaning the drops of vodka that had slipped down her neck, looking at Costia with a naughty smile on her face.

It was the last thing Lexa saw before the transmission was cut off and she lay motionless, unsure what to think of it all. Whether it was something she needed to worry about or not, she was simply annoyed by the fact that Costia had preferred to spend time with her friends instead of her girlfriend.

The jealousy took over her as she got up from the computer, feeling as if the air was being sucked out of her room and perhaps from the entire world, along with the happiness she had been feeling up to that point.

* * *

Clarke endured the impending questioning she was subjected to by her mother as soon as she walked through the front door.

She had the feeling that she had been waiting for her, perhaps wrongfully thinking that she was spending time with Finn, since she pretty much ran out to meet her when she noticed the Jeep in front of the house.

Hadn't she told her that she was going to be late?

She couldn't help but notice the expression on her mother's face change to a more relaxed one when she saw that it was Wells who was driving the vehicle, confirming that, indeed, her mother had expected to see Finn behind the wheel.

Clarke went up to her room and slammed the door, running away from Abby.

“ _It's_ _only_ _six_ _o'clock_ _in_ _the_ _afternoon_ _and_ _I'm_ _no_ _longer_ _a_ _child_ _,_ ” she protested mentally as she changed her clothes.

She lay down in bed, shuffling different possibilities to occupy her time with, when she suddenly felt a glimpse of curiosity which made her reach into the back pocket of her jeans.

She grabbed the phone and accessed her Instagram account with a pretty clear idea of what she wanted to do.

She typed the name Lexa Woods in the search engine and pressed the button, finding that the brunette appeared with her full name.

However, and perhaps contrary to what she would have expected, she did not seem to be very active; she barely had any photos, the last one posted a couple of months ago and she did not appear in any of them, or at least not in a big shot.

Except for one where she saw the brunette smiling and posing with another girl, she assumed a friend, on the "International LGBTQ Pride Day" in Madrid, according to the geotag.

Clarke read the comments, stopping at one in which someone by the name of Costia had thanked her for an amazing weekend.

She decided to check out Costia's profile, dying to know more about that girl, but an incoming call from Finn got in her way before she could click on the name.

**_Phone call:_ **

_Clarke:_  
“Hey...”

 _Finn:_  
“Hey, beautiful... are you home yet?”

 _Clarke:_  
“Yes... I just arrived... you?”

 _Finn:_  
“Me too... I can't wait to see you, you know?”

The conversation was interrupted by someone knocking on the door.

“Clarke...” the blonde's breath hitched when she saw her mother walk into her room, and quickly hid the phone behind her back. “I'm going to go do some shopping... You are not going out, are you?”

“Hey... No...”

“Good, because your father forgot his keys... but I think he should be home soon...”

“Okay...”

Clarke sighed when Abby left her room and turned her attention back to the conversation with Finn.

**_Phone call:_ **

_Clarke:_  
“Finn?”

 _Finn:_  
“Yes, princess... when can I see you? I really miss your kisses...”

 _Clarke:_  
“Um...” the blonde couldn't help but blush. “I can't go out today... my mother is being impossible...”

 _Finn:_  
“Ugh... tomorrow then?” the boy insisted.

 _Clarke:_  
“We're starting with practice tomorrow...”

 _Finn:_  
“Shit... me too... I almost forgot... Well, I'll see you at lunch then... If you and the rest of the 'mean girls' let me sit with you,” he joked.

 _Clarke:_  
“Pfffff!" Clarke protested. “It seems that being deprived of my kisses has had a bad effect on your sense of humor...” she said playfully.

 _Finn:_  
“We'll have to do something about it, then...” he played along.

 _Clarke:_  
“Yeah...” Clarke replied, smiling. “See you tomorrow... Have a good afternoon...”

 _Finn:_  
“Thank you, beautiful... You too.”

As soon as they finished the phone call, Clarke went down to the pool with a towel over her shoulder, determined to make the most of being home alone; she left it on the wooden sun lounger and sat on the edge of the pool, sinking her feet into the water.

Despite the heat, Clarke felt the water somewhat cold, which did not stop her from submerging all the way to the bottom, holding her breath for as long as she could before she swam to the surface and took a breath of clean air.

When she opened her eyes, she discovered Lexa looking through the back window of the new neighbors' house.

Could it be that she was watching her?

Clarke couldn't help but wonder, wiping the water from her eyes with both hands, but when she looked up again, Lexa was gone.

The blonde glanced at that window a few more times, feeling curious about her new neighbor yet again, but gave up after a while when she didn't show up.

She shrugged and went under the water again after taking one last look at the window, and swam from one end to the other for the next five minutes before getting out of the pool and starting her exercise routine.

* * *

Lexa was watching Clarke sitting at the edge of the pool, seeming rather pensive, and held on to the window frame when she suddenly jumped into the water.

From that distance, she looked like a blur under the surface of the water, which remained still, and Lexa began to automatically count the seconds, intrigued by the time she would be able to resist before coming up again.

“Lexa...” 

“Mm...? What?” she asked, moving away from the window moments before Becca opened the door.

Her mother entered and tilted her head to the side, looking at Lexa with pleading in her eyes.

“I need you to do something for me...”

“Ahh...” she sighed, trying to control her heart rate.

_Why did it feel as if she had been doing something wrong?_

“What is it?”

“I need you to take something to the Griffins, to thank them for their warm welcome yesterday.”

Lexa raised her eyebrows, widening her eyes until her face was disfigured, making it hard for Becca not to laugh.

“Why me?”

“Why not you?”

“Ugh...” Lexa sighed.

“Come on... didn't you say the eldest of the Griffin sisters was in your class?”

“Yes...” she said quietly. “We have some classes together... but we haven't talked much...”

“See... another reason for you to go over there.”

“I don't want to,” she protested with a grimace.

“Oh, come on... Just knock on the door and give Abby the cake...”

“Mom...”

“Please...”

“Agh... Fine, I'll go...” she huffed, rubbing her forehead.

Becca left the room happy, leaving Lexa with her dilemma, unable to stop her cheeks from blushing. She looked out the window before she went out of her room, but the blonde was no longer in the water.

Ten minutes later she found herself ringing the bell, holding a carrot cake on a tray, hoping that Clarke would not be the one to open the door.

She realized her prayers had been in vain when the blonde appeared in front of her with a towel around her body, over her swimsuit, and her wet hair falling on her shoulders.

Lexa opened her mouth as she tilted her head down, facing the ground.

“Hi...”

“Hello...” Clarke greeted her back, slightly widening her eyes.

A smile curved her lips when her eyes met Lexa's shy gaze.

“Uh... hello...” she repeated herself. “My mother sent me to give you this...” Lexa said without raising her eyes entirely from the space between them.

“Oh...” Clarke replied, noticing the tray that the brunette was holding in her hands. “What is it?”

“Right... Um... Here...” Lexa replied, bringing the tray closer to the blonde's hands. “Carrot cake.”

“Uuu...” Clarke said excitedly, tilting her head. “Love it!”

“Yeah?” Lexa asked, unable to hide her surprise.

“Yes, it's my favorite... Thank you.”

“Mine too...” she confessed quietly.

They stood a few seconds in front of each other, Lexa trying desperately not to look below Clarke's chin, not knowing very well what to say, until she heard the sound of an incoming message.

Clarke lowered her eyes, following the sound.

Lexa simply stepped back, automatically looking at her phone screen. She wrinkled her nose at the same time she clenched her jaw, a gesture that did not go unnoticed by the blonde.

**_Text message:_ **

_Costia (6:34 pm):_  
“I'm sorry, baby... it's getting late and I'm really tired... talk tomorrow? I miss you... 😑”

“Okay... I have to go...” Lexa said after a pause.

It was a bit unusual, but Clarke could feel how the brunette's energy changed to a tenser one.

_Who sent her a message and what was it about?_

Clarke wanted to know, but she was aware that it was none of her business.

“Uh... Sure... See you tomorrow, I guess...”

“Yes, definitely...” Lexa answered, turning around in such a hurry that she almost tripped over the last step of the entrance, which made the blonde smile, despite that strange sensation she had felt earlier when she noticed that slight change of attitude in her.

“Bye,” she whispered.


	5. The Tryouts

Despite the poor quality of sleep that Lexa had experienced the night before, she started the morning feeling energized and quite excited about her second day at school, specifically about the upcoming tryouts.

She forced herself not to overthink the whole 'Costia situation' but rather focused on getting ready for school and packed her sports equipment in her gym bag, which she hung over her shoulder before grabbing her penny board and riding off.

On her way to third period, she was approached by Raven who seemed to be walking in the same direction.

“Lexa! Hi...” she greeted her with a big smile on her face.

Lexa couldn't help but find her positive energy contagious, returning the smile as she looked at her over the shoulder.

“Hey, Raven...” she said, walking by her side down the hall.

“You remember my name!” the Latina exclaimed, seeming surprised.

“It's not a name one easily forgets,” Lexa smiled.

“Yours is bitchin', by the way... Is it short for Alexandria or something like that?”

“Nope... just Lexa.”

“Awesome! It sounds...” Raven paused, squinting as she was looking for the right word. “Powerful!”

“Thanks... I guess…” Lexa chuckled.

“You're taking Sociology?” Raven asked, seeing that Lexa was slowly stopping in front of the classroom.

“Oh... yes.”

“Me too!” Raven grinned and walked through the door, followed by Lexa. “Octavia thinks it's boring... she can't believe it's one of my electives.”

“I think it's cool,” Lexa shrugged as she looked around in a search for an empty seat.

“Yeah, the curriculum seemed pretty dope,” Raven agreed. “Wanna sit over there?” she asked Lexa, pointing in the direction of the two empty chairs with individual desks in the back row.

“Sure...” Lexa nodded as they walked to the back of the classroom. “Is Octavia your best friend?” she asked once they took a seat.

“Yes... And Clarke too,” the Latina replied casually. “You should totally sit with us at lunch today!” she added excitedly.

“Oh... I...”

“Where were you yesterday?” Raven didn't wait for an answer. “I didn't see you in the cafeteria...”

“Gaia took me to the stadium, and we ate under the bleachers...”

“Uuu under the bleachers…” Raven joked, winking at her.

Lexa frowned at the Latina's playful tone, wondering about the reason behind it. Was it unusual that two girls would have lunch under the bleachers? Of course, she was aware that it was known to be a popular make out spot in pretty much every American teen movie ever made, but... Was it possible that Raven had sensed her 'gay vibe'?

And if so, did that mean that Gaia was out?

From the moment Lexa laid eyes on the dark-skinned girl, she had no doubt that she was at least bisexual, but she wasn't sure if she was open about it, especially with her being the class president.

Maybe she was wrong about this place being more conservative than her last residence; after all, the anti-LGBTQ sentiments might be strong in the state of Texas, but maybe not so much in Houston, considering it was known to be the home to the 4th largest gay pride parade in the nation, according to Google.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the teacher who introduced herself to the class, writing her name on the board, and proceeded to take attendance.

* * *

At lunch time, Lexa was on her way to the school cafeteria when she heard someone calling her name from the other side of the hall. She turned around and saw Gaia approaching her, accompanied by two significantly taller girls and a tall, broad-shouldered boy that she did not remember having seen before.

“Hey, Gaia...” she greeted her with a smile.

“Hey!” the girl smiled back. “We were on our way to the bleachers... wanna join us?”

“Um...”

“Shit, sorry!” Gaia interrupted her before she could give her an answer. “These are my friends, Luna and Niylah... and my cousin Lincoln... guys, this is the girl I told you about...” she added, glancing at her friends.

“Heard you're coming to the tryouts today,” said the girl with the blonde hair, that Gaia had introduced as Niylah, giving Lexa a quick scan from head to toes.

“Yes...” Lexa replied quickly, feeling slightly intimidated. “Are you on the team?”

“They both are,” Gaia interfered. “They're seniors.”

“I love your accent!” the other girl joined the conversation, looking at Lexa with friendly curiosity.

She had voluminous, curly brown hair with a hint of a reddish glow, complementing her big, chocolate eyes.

Lincoln, however, hadn't said a word; he just stood behind the girls, quietly observing the verbal exchange.

“Thanks...” Lexa replied a bit sheepishly.

“You coming then?” Gaia repeated the invitation, leaning her head to the side.

“Right... uh, sorry... I already made plans...” Lexa replied, sounding apologetic. “Raven invited me to join her and her friends for lunch...”

“Uuu the Holy Trinity!” Gaia commented in what Lexa perceived as a mocking tone, followed by a chuckle from the other two girls. “Alright... We'll see you after school, then!” she winked at Lexa as they walked away from her.

Lexa smiled at them a bit awkwardly before she turned around and walked in the direction of the cafeteria.

When she got there, she noticed that the place was packed; most of the tables were occupied by chatting teenagers, eating, and probably catching up after being away for the summer. She grabbed a tray and stood in line before choosing the plant-based menu. As soon as the employee served her, she took the tray with food and turned around, trying to locate Raven and the rest of the group.

It did not take long before she saw the Latina waving, inviting her to sit at their table. From where she was standing, she could see that Octavia was sitting next to Raven, and across from them she recognized Clarke and the boy she had seen the previous day before Literature class.

_“So, that's Finn...”_ she thought, remembering what Gaia had said about Clarke dating a guy named Finn.

“Hey, Lexa!” Raven welcomed her. “O, scooch over...” she said to Octavia and the latter moved down the bench, making space for Lexa.

Just as she sat next to Raven, she locked eyes with Clarke, who gave her a smile, although not as wide as when she went over to her house to give her the carrot cake.

“You know Octavia and Clarke...” Raven continued. “And this is Finn,” she added, looking at him.

“Hey...” the boy greeted her, flashing his perfect, white teeth. “I remember you from yesterday, actually... I was there when principal Jaha walked you to Mr. Kane's class.”

“Right, yes...” Lexa managed a soft smile.

“So, Lexa...” Octavia joined the conversation. “I've been dying to ask you about Spain! How long did you live there?”

“Four years...”

“In Madrid?” Clarke asked, remembering the geotag on the photo she saw on Lexa's Instagram page.

“Yes,” Lexa answered, briefly meeting the blonde's eyes.

“Oh, I adore Madrid!” Octavia exclaimed. “I was there last June... I'd love to go back someday!”

“Let's all go this summer and Lexa can show us around!” Raven suggested, mainly as a joke.

“I'm planning on going over the Christmas holidays, actually...” Lexa said.

“Cool! Are you spending New Year's Eve with your friends there?” Octavia asked.

“Or...” Raven joined the 'inquiry', “… with someone special you left behind?” she asked, playfully moving her eyebrows up and down.

Clarke widened her eyes, fixing them on Lexa, impatiently waiting for her to answer the question.

The brunette slightly tilted her head down, feeling the heat rising up her neck and settling on her cheeks.

“Oh, man... long-distance relationships suck,” Finn commented. “I don't know if I could do it...”

“Hmm... Something tells me you'd be more than willing do it for blondie over here,” Raven winked at him, tilting her head in Clarke's direction.

“Well...” he said as he stood up. “She _is_ pretty awesome,” he added before he leaned towards Clarke. “Catch you later, princess...” he whispered near her face and then turned to Raven. “I'll let you girls talk about boys,” he said, receiving an eye-roll from the Latina. “Nice to meet you, Lexa!” he smiled at her before he walked away.

As soon as he left, Octavia stood up and went around the table to sit next to Clarke.

“So...” Octavia said and placed her elbows on the table, leaning with her chin on her hands. “Your boyfriend… is he Spanish?” she asked Lexa.

“Um...” Lexa nervously bit her lip, wondering if she should tell the truth.

She had never had a doubt about her sexuality; in fact, she knew from an early age that she had no interest in boys whatsoever, and the best thing was that when she came out to her parents, they confessed that they had suspected it all along and were incredibly accepting and proud of her.

It was probably why she never felt the need to hide who she was, and she decided she wasn't about to start now.

“She... My girlfriend is half-Spanish and half-British, actually...” she said in a steady tone before she took a sip of her water, waiting for the girls' reaction.

Clarke opened her mouth, trying to figure out what to say.

Nothing.

Her mind went blank.

_“Did Lexa say... girlfriend?”_ she thought. _“Lexa has a girlfriend?”_

“I knew it!” Raven exclaimed with a big, satisfied smile on her face.

“No, you didn't!” Octavia challenged her.

“I so did!” Raven insisted. “I'll have you know; I have an excellent gaydar!”

Clarke and Lexa exchanged a quick glance and a smile, amused by Octavia and Raven's quarrel. Lexa was relieved to see that they were acting completely normal and they were not being weird about it.

“So, you won't see each other until Christmas?” Clarke asked, putting an end to the conversation between Raven and Octavia.

“Nope...” Lexa replied.

“Damn... that must suck...” Octavia commented.

“Is she our age?” Clarke continued with the questions.

“Yes... we were classmates.”

“Awww high school sweethearts!” Octavia added.

“Show us a photo!” Raven was curious.

Lexa smiled timidly and took out her phone. After unlocking the screen, she opened the photo gallery and showed them a couple of selfies that Costia had sent her, as well as a few more of the two of them together.

“She's hot!” Raven exclaimed excitedly. “You look so good together!”

“Totally!” Octavia agreed.

“Thanks...” Lexa said, too busy blushing to notice that Clarke hadn't said a word since she had shown them the photos.

The truth was that the blonde was struggling with the sudden feeling of tightness in her chest that appeared right about the time she saw one of photos, in which Costia was sitting in Lexa's lap and they were smiling at each other, looking completely and utterly in love.

“Hey, is that the vegan quesadilla?”

Just like that Raven changed the subject, staring at Lexa's food tray and interrupting Clarke's thoughts.

“Damn... I totally forgot I was gonna try that today...”

“Don't worry... thanks to our class president, it'll be on the menu every Wednesday,” Octavia commented.

“Would you like some?” Lexa offered. “I don't want to eat too much before the tryouts...”

“Cool, thanks!” Raven accepted and took a bite. “Speaking of the class president....” she continued as she started chewing the food. “She's gonna be crushed when she finds out you have a girlfriend... She's definitely got a thing for you!”

“What?” Clarke reacted. “Is Gaia...?”

“She's bi,” Octavia was quick to reply. “Her friends threw her a coming out party last month... it was all over Instagram.”

“How come I didn't know this?” Clarke frowned.

“You were too busy sucking face with pretty boy Finn,” Raven chuckled.

Octavia laughed at the comment and Clarke rolled her eyes, while Lexa smiled awkwardly as she glanced at the table where Finn was having lunch with his friends, that she presumed were his teammates, judging by their red-and-white Mustangs letterman jackets.

The girls talked for a little while, and Lexa learned that Gaia's cousin, Lincoln, had started dating Luna over the summer, which Octavia wasn't particularly thrilled about. She also learned that he and her big brother Bellamy were best friends, and according to Raven, Octavia had had the biggest crush on Lincoln ever since middle school, whereas the Latina was currently dating an older guy named Kyle, who was not a student at Memorial High.

After lunch, they went back to class, although Lexa didn't pay too much attention to the lecture, since she was too excited about the upcoming tryouts, while Clarke was lost in her own thoughts, wondering about the reason behind the disturbed state of her inner peace.

* * *

“Ugh, I hate Physics...” Clarke groaned as she stepped out of the classroom, walking next to Lexa.

“Yeah... not my favorite either,” Lexa smiled at her.

“Ready for the tryouts?” the blonde asked as they walked in the direction of the gym.

“I guess...” Lexa shrugged. “Got any tips for me?”

“Oh... Well, Indra is going to challenge you... physically AND mentally,” Clarke said. “You just need to show her that you have a work ethic... What position do you play, by the way?”

“I started as a shooting guard when I was younger... but ever since my growth spurt in 8th grade, I've been playing small forward... you?”

“I'm the shooting guard... What are you... 5'10''?”

“5'11'' actually...”

“You see, I didn't notice how tall you were when you I saw you on the sidewalk...”

“Right... that was you in the car yesterday...” Lexa tried to play it cool. “I thought I heard someone complementing my penny board...”

“Oh, that was my sister, actually... Madi,” Clarke smiled. “She's into skateboarding too...”

“Cool... Um... well, I guess it's because of my posture...”

“What do you mean?” Clarke frowned.

“About what you said... that I didn't look tall... My mum always tells me not to slouch,” she explained.

“Oh... I guess you do walk with your shoulders hanging slightly forward,” Clarke turned her head and looked at Lexa up and down, “but I think it's cute... it goes well with that whole skate girl vibe you've got going on,” she said quite casually as she gave her a subtle smile and a wink.

“Um... Thanks,” Lexa managed to smile back and couldn't help but blush at Clarke's words.

_“She thinks I'm... cute?”_ she thought, trying to figure out the meaning of it, if there was any at all.

“We're actually looking for a good small forward...” Clarke continued talking, interrupting Lexa's thoughts. “The girl who played the position last year was a senior, and I don't like the bench player...”

“Oh... she's not good?” Lexa was curious.

“She's not a bad player... Ontari is just... well, she can be very selfish,” Clarke explained.

“Right...” Lexa nodded.

“And Indra is all about teamwork,” Clarke said right before they entered the locker room. “In your case, she's going to be expecting to see strong defense, as well as jump shots, but she'll be expecting to see good layups and drop step skills too...”

“Cool...” Lexa nodded, with her head slightly bent over. “Thanks for...”

“Hey, Lexa!”

Lexa looked up and saw Gaia waving at her, standing next to an open locker.

“There's an empty locker next to mine,” she added quickly.

“I'll catch you later,” Clarke gently touched Lexa's upper arm before she walked away from her and opened her locker.

The brunette smiled at her and then joined Gaia, exchanging a few words with her before she changed her clothes. She opted for blue Spalding basketball shorts, made of light, perforated fabric, in combination with a black, sleeveless Nike Performance shirt, completing the outfit with black and blue Lebron Witness 4 Magic Nikes with padded ankle area and a detail of a molded lion on the heel.

Once they were all dressed, they went to the basketball court where the coach was already waiting for them, standing in the center of it, with her arms crossed across her chest.

“Welcome, everyone!” she greeted them as soon as they stood in front of her. “As you all know, we're having the tryouts today, so I am going to need everyone's collaboration... Four Varsity players graduated last year, which means those spots are now available... But I want to be clear about something... If you wish to be on the team, today is your chance to show me that you deserve it... Today, all your skills will be tested though a variety of drills, but I will also evaluate your willingness to learn and to put it all on the court... Before we begin with the warmup, I believe introductions are in order... Let's start with the current Varsity players... Say your name and position on the team, please,” she said and looked at her daughter Gaia.

“Hey, everyone!” Gaia didn't hesitate. “My name is Gaia and I play point guard,” she said, smiling at the new girls, and especially at Lexa.

Clarke was standing next to her, and she couldn't help but feel that Raven might have been right about Gaia liking Lexa, and for some reason, it was starting to bother her.

“Clarke?” Indra called her name, bringing her back to Earth.

“Right, sorry... Um... My name is Clarke and I play shooting guard,” she said with a subtle smile on her lips.

“Hey! I'm Luna,” said the tall girl with the brown curls, now carefully drawn back in a ponytail, “and I play power forward.”

“My name is Niylah and I play center,” the even taller blonde girl introduced herself in a firm tone.

The next one to speak was a short-haired girl, named Echo and she had the same position on the team as Clarke. She was about her height as well, around 5'8'', and seemed a lot nicer than Niylah.

Unlike her, when the last member of the team introduced herself, Lexa could swear she felt chills down her spine. It was Ontari, the girl that Clarke had mentioned before, and Lexa could see that there was definitely something quite displeasing about her.

Lexa and the other five girls who were trying to get on the team introduced themselves as well before Indra instructed the players to start the warm up by jogging the length of the gym, down and back, followed by some side shuffling, carioca, lateral slide step, as well as some core strength and balance exercises.

They finished the warming up part with a hamstring dynamic stretch and then Indra announced the first drill, which was for the players to catch the ball on the wing, one by one, take two dribbles and shoot. Next, they moved on to zig zag and stationary drills, as well as dribbling around cones and finishing with a layup or a jump shot.

It was quite intense, and Lexa was glad she had done her jogging and exercise routine almost every day over the summer, managing to stay in shape despite the recent move across the ocean.

“Alright, girls... good job!” Indra spoke. “The next drill will test passing, floor vision, transition game, offense and defense skills... It is 3-on-2 and then 2-on-1, meaning it starts with three players on offense coming down the court attempting to score against two waiting defenders... The player who attempts the shot, whether it is made or not, will then get back to play defense, while the two original defensive players now attempt to score,” she explained. “Good... let's start with... Maya, Lexa and Emori playing offense... Gaia and Ontari, you're playing defense.”

They started the drill with Emori handling the ball outside the three-point arc, guarded closely by Gaia, until the latter was blocked by Maya, making it possible for Emori to move towards the free throw lane. There she was confronted by Ontari, but managed to react quickly and passed the ball to Lexa, who had moved near the low blocks and made a clean jump shot just in time before Gaia or Ontari could reach her.

The ball went right through the hoop, making the familiar swish sound at the contact with the net.

Maya and Emori stepped aside, while Lexa positioned herself in defense, ready for Ontari and Gaia to start their game.

Gaia took the lead, and Lexa followed her to the three-point arc, but at the same time keeping an eye on Ontari's movements. The shorter girl was about to do a crossover between the legs, but Lexa managed to interfere with the ball just enough to change its direction, sending it towards Ontari, who grabbed the ball and was about to shoot when Lexa reached her. That made her change her mind, starting to dribble instead, and Lexa decided to keep close defense, following her instinct that Ontari was probably going to go for a layup. She did exactly that and Lexa stayed close to her all the way to the restricted area, where Ontari elbowed her in the ribs just as she was about to jump, pushing her roughly until she fell on the floor.

Indra blew the whistle for a foul, but Ontari finished the layup anyway, scoring a point.

“Ontari!” she yelled. “That was a foul! You are done here... Hit the showers...”

“But coach...” Ontari protested.

“NOW!” Indra raised her voice, staring at the girl.

Ontari huffed and picked up her towel from the bench on her way out, while Gaia helped Lexa get up on her feet.

“Woods, all good?” Indra approached them.

Clarke and the others were watching the scene in complete silence, and Clarke felt relieved when she saw Lexa nod at the coach.

“Yes, coach…” she confirmed, rubbing her side with her hand.

“Can you continue?” Indra needed to make sure.

“Yes, coach!” Lexa said firmly and straightened up.

“Good... Alright,” the coach said as she turned around, “Clarke, you play defense with Lexa... Niylah, Maya and Hope play offense.”

They continued the drills for another fifteen minutes, finishing with a game 5-on-5, which Indra believed to be an excellent way to test the players' passing, shooting and rebounding skills in game-like situations.

“Great jobs, girls!” Indra said once they were done with the stretching. “Thank you for your effort today... The names of the new members of Varsity will be published tomorrow on the bulletin board... Those of you who make it on the list... See you tomorrow at practice!”

The tryouts had been intense, yes, and Lexa believed she had been up to the task, but if her name did not appear on that list, she knew she would be able to make peace with it, knowing she had done her best on the court that day.

She had gotten quite a ‘nudge’ from Ontari; that brunette played dirty without a doubt, and although it hurt, Lexa was glad that the coach had been strict about it. By doing so, she believed that Indra demonstrated her impartiality, sticking to her vision of the game and moving away from favoritism. After all, a good basketball team should be just that - a team and not an individual struggle to score more points.

Lexa grabbed her towel from the bench, releasing a soft groan, and as she was wiping her forehead, she noticed Gaia and Luna approaching her, after saying goodbye to the other girls, who ran to the locker room.

“Good game, Lexa!” Gaia said, smiling at her.

“Thank you...”

“See you tomorrow ...” Luna added, raising her eyebrows in a smile.

“Hopefully…”

“You can bet on it ...” Gaia winked at her, gently touching her upper arm. “By the way ... Luna, Niylah and I are going to grab some drinks at the Memorial ... Would you like to join us?”

“The Memorial?” Lexa lowered her eyebrows.

“Yes, it's a mall, not too far from here ... There’s a Starbucks there.”

Lexa hesitated for a second, but the answer simply popped out of her mouth when she saw Clarke behind the girls, sitting a few feet away and tying the laces of her sneakers.

“Thanks, but I have some things to do this afternoon at home… Raincheck?”

“I’ll hold you to that!” Gaia replied, following Lexa's gaze over her shoulder. “See you tomorrow...”

Luna and Gaia said their goodbyes and left, clearing the way between her and the blonde.

Clarke looked up, meeting Lexa's eyes.

A smile cropped up on her face as she stood up and they both took several steps towards each other.

“Hey ...” Clarke said first.

“Hey ...”

“Sure you're okay? Ontari hit you pretty hard ...”

“Yes, it's nothing ...” Lexa smiled. “You were right about her...”

Clarke shrugged.

“Not much we can do about it ... she’s a ... Well, that’s the way that she is ...” she said, trying to define Ontari as politely as possible.

They chatted a few more minutes and Clarke gave Lexa a brief introduction to each of the players, from her point of view, highlighting their virtues on the court, as well as some weaknesses that they had managed to solve with good teamwork.

“I also think you'll get in ...” she said at the end, slightly embarrassed by the fact that with that statement she not only expressed her thoughts on the matter, but it also meant that she had heard the conversation between Gaia, Luna and Lexa.

“We'll find out tomorrow ...” Lexa smiled, feeling flattered.

“Are you going home now?”

“Uh ... yeah ... I promised my mom I'd help with some of the moving boxes that we still have stacked in the garage ...”

“Right ...” Clarke whispered, wondering about the discomfort she had felt when she had heard Gaia propose to meet Lexa outside of school.

“You?”

“I ... yes ... I also have things to do ...”

“No plans with your friends? Or your… boyfriend?” Lexa managed to ask, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

“Finn? Um ... he's not my boyfriend ...” Clarke answered, blushing.

“Oh, sorry ... I thought ...”

“No, it's just that… we haven't made it official… we've only gone out a few times,” she hurried to explain.

“I see…” Lexa smiled.

“Wanna walk home together?” Clarke asked, surprising herself with the question. “Oh, but ... you have your penny board ...” she remembered.

“I do… but I think prefer walking today ...” Lexa replied with a smile.

Clarke tilted her head as a feeling of heat spread in her chest, unable to control the smile that curved her lips in response to Lexa’s.

They walked together to the locker room where half of the team had already showered and gone home, creating that typical locker room atmosphere; the smell of gel, the humid heat and the steam from the showers, as well as the pleasant and excited chat of the girls who were still inside.

Clarke looked at Lexa, curious to see her reaction to entering and finding some of her teammates practically naked, but the brunette did not even twitch nor did she seem to be uncomfortable with all those naked girls in front of them.

She simply sat on the bench and remained composed, just as she did when she herself was the center of attention in the locker room earlier, when Gaia had offered her the locker next to hers.

Clarke's locker was across from Lexa's, which she appreciated since she did not know if she would be able to take off her clothes in front of her, knowing that she…

The blonde shook her head, covering herself with her towel and quickly got in the shower.

It wasn't that it bothered her; in fact, she considered herself quite tolerant and accepting of sexual diversity, but it was the first time she had met a girl who was attracted to the same sex. Well, apart from Gaia, but that was an information she had not yet finished assimilating, and they were not as close as she hoped that she and Lexa could become.

She liked her energy and there was something about her that intrigued her.

Once she was done, she found Lexa sitting on the bench in her underwear, freshly showered and her damp hair was falling over her shoulders.

Clarke couldn't help but notice her lean and fit body, her skin a bit more tanned than hers, the slightly darker hair covering her arms, her prominent collar bones and the width of her shoulders, appreciating the perfect bone and muscle structure of her back.

Lexa was wearing a black sports bra and briefs in the same color, with a white elastic at the waist and the Calvin Klein letters printed in black. Her breasts were small but firm, just like Clarke’s used to be before the ‘great transformation.’

Lexa looked up as she got up from the bench to pull up her pants, discovering the blonde emerging from the showers. Clarke smiled at her, turning to her locker calmly, although the truth was that, for some reason, Lexa suddenly felt completely naked in front of her.

Clarke looked away, corresponding with a timid smile on her way to the locker, avoiding looking at her more than necessary. She hid behind the open door of her locker, where she grabbed her underwear and put them on without completely removing the towel.

However, she could not help but glance at the brunette once more, discovering a flat and perfectly toned abdomen, and started walking towards her, taking advantage of the moment when Lexa was rummaging for the shirt in her locker.

Lexa was startled when she noticed the blonde nearby.

“You said it was nothing ...”

“What?” Lexa asked, confused about what she could be talking about, until she noticed Clarke's hand on her side, very close to her chest, right in that zone where she had received the blow from Ontari.

“Does it hurt a lot?” Clarke asked.

“No ...” she hurried.

Clarke frowned, looking at the obvious signs of irritation on Lexa’s skin, knowing firsthand that the redness would eventually turn into a large bruise.

“I have something for it ... come ...” Clarke said as she turned around and walked away.

Lexa followed her with her shirt in hand and watched her take a gel tube out of her locker.

“Sit down ...” The blonde said decisively, pouring some of that gel in her hands.

However, she hesitated for a second just before her fingers touched Lexa’s skin again, but finally brought her hand to her side, where she rubbed the gel without applying too much pressure, avoiding the lower part of her breast as a wave of electricity went through her body.

Lexa shuddered when she felt the cold gel… or maybe it was because of the warm touch of Clarke's fingers?

“Oh… I'm sorry...” Clarke hurried to apologize, thinking she had been too rough applying the gel.

“No, it’s okay ... it's just a bit cold ...”

“Right ...” Clarke answered, not sure if she should believe her, looking her straight in the eye with a smile on her lips.

Lexa averted her gaze.

The situation felt too intimate and she was grateful when the blonde announced that she was done.

“What’s in the gel?” Lexa was curious.

“Heparin sodium ... Heparin is an anticoagulant, but when used in gel, it helps with the resorption of superficial bruises ...” Clarke explained.

“Thank you ...” Lexa whispered as she put on her shirt, surprised by the blonde's medical knowledge. “How come you know so much about this stuff?”

The moment was interrupted by Lexa's phone, ringing inside her backpack.

“I think it's your phone ...” Clarke said.

“Uh… yes ...” Lexa replied, scratching her forehead. “It's probably my mom, eager to know how the tryouts went ...”

Clarke smiled, appreciating the good relationship that seemed to exist between Lexa and her mother, so different from hers, and she continued dressing as the brunette took the call.

“Hey, baby ...” Lexa answered, surprising Clarke.

The blonde made a face and although she tried to block her ears, she could feel something different in Lexa's voice when she was talking to the person on the other end of the phone, and Clarke had no doubt that it was…. Her.

Yes.

_“Her girlfriend ...”_ she thought, clenching her jaw, and feeling slightly uncomfortable.

Shit!

What kind of feeling was that?


	6. The Walk

As soon as Clarke realized Lexa was talking to her girlfriend, she quickly finished getting dressed and slammed the door of her locker, unintentionally getting the brunette's attention.

“I'll wait for you outside,” she whispered when she felt Lexa's startled gaze on her.

“Okay,” Lexa nodded at the blonde with a smile on her face as she watched her walk out of the locker room.

**_Phone call_ **

_Costia:_  
“Who was that?” Lexa heard Costia's voice on the other side of the phone.

 _Lexa:_  
“My neighbor,” she replied quickly.

 _Costia:_  
“Huh? I thought you were in the locker room...”

 _Lexa:_  
“I am... And so was she... She's on the team,” she said casually, perhaps getting a kick out of Costia's confusion.

 _Costia:_  
“Oh... Is she hot?” she asked, and Lexa could swear she had never heard her girlfriend sound so insecure before.

 _Lexa:_  
“She is, yes,” she replied without hesitation, knowing she was only pouring fuel to the fire.

And after the video she had seen the previous night, she felt she had every right to do so.

_Costia:_  
“Is that right?” she asked, sounding upset. “So, is she the reason why you haven't replied to any of my texts today?”

 _Lexa:_  
“Not at all... I figured you'd be too busy giving Amaia her reward,” she said, putting an emphasis on the last word.

 _Costia:_  
“What?? Are you fucking serious right now?” she raised her voice. “Seriously, Lexa, your jealousy is just too much sometimes...”

 _Lexa:_  
“Right... Cause any other person would've loved watching a video of their girlfriend flirting with another girl...” she said in a sarcastic tone.

 _Costia:_  
“I wasn't flirting with her!”

 _Lexa:_  
“So, I'm imagining things, is that what you're saying?”

 _Costia:_  
“I'm not saying that... Look, babe... I realize that, taken out of context, it might have looked that way, but it was just a night out with friends, nothing more...” she said in a calmer tone.

 _Lexa:_  
“So she wasn't trying to seduce you when she was asking for an award?”

 _Costia:_  
“Seduce me?” she chuckled.

 _Lexa:_  
“Oh, you think this is funny?” she said, sounding frustrated.

 _Costia:_  
“If you knew her, you'd find it funny too!”

There was an awkward silence between them.

Lexa almost felt the urge to end the call. The more she talked, the more frustrated and angrier she became, and she was afraid to say or hear things that both of them would later regret.

But Costia spoke just in time before any of that would happen.

_Costia:_  
“Babe, come on... The only reason we got so wasted was because she misses her girlfriend and I miss you... Look, I'll stop hanging out with her if it bothers you this much... It's just that I was really happy that I had met someone who understood what I was going through... Not having you here has been really hard on me...”

Lexa sat on the bench and leaned back, closing her eyes.

Costia's words actually made sense.

Then, what was that feeling inside of her that was causing her to react this way?

Was it all because of the distance?

Was it the distance that was turning her into this possessive, insecure person?

Or was it... Costia?

Ever since they had started dating, Lexa felt blessed as each day went by to be living that beautiful dream in which the most popular girl in school was _her_ girlfriend.

She simply couldn't fathom why out of all the girls that Costia could have had with just a snap of her fingers, she had actually chosen _her_.

The socially-awkward bookworm, who preferred to go skating or play basketball instead of going out and getting drunk like a "normal" teenager.

And yet, Costia wanted _her_.

Lexa reacted, realizing that the problem was her own insecurity and the distance that this new move had placed between them.

_Lexa:_  
“No... Of course I don't want you to stop hanging out with her,” she finally said after reminding herself that it was Costia who had taken her out of her shell, and she loved her for it. “I guess I just miss you too much and it's making me act crazy...”

 _Costia:_  
“It's okay, babe... It's actually kinda... Hot...” she said in a playful tone.

 _Lexa:_  
“Hot?” Lexa frowned, surprised that her jealousy could be appealing to Costia.

 _Costia:_  
“Mhmm...” she continued in a more sensual tone. “It turns me on knowing that the thought of me being with someone else drives you crazy... I wish I could touch you right now...”

 _Lexa:_  
“I wish I could touch you too...” she replied, trying to sound confident in spite of the sudden heat she felt in her cheeks.

 _Costia:_  
“Are you alone right now?”

 _Lexa:_  
“Uh... Yes... I was getting ready to go home when you called...”

 _Costia:_  
“Yeah? With that new neighbor of yours?”

 _Lexa:_  
“Oh... Um... No... I think she left already,” she lied.

She did not know why she had done it, but she couldn't tell the truth, especially after telling Costia that Clarke was hot.

The truth was that, for some reason, she couldn't help but feel guilty for having agreed to walk home with Clarke.

Perhaps it was because she was actually looking forward to it.

_Costia:_  
“Good... You said she was hot just to make me jealous, didn't you?”

 _Lexa:_  
“Maybe...”

This time she didn't lie; she had said it to provoke Costia, but that didn't mean she didn't find the blonde attractive.

Win-win.

After all, she was only human, and she had it clear that she loved Costia and wouldn't even think about cheating on her.

But that didn't mean she couldn't look.

And Clarke was quite the sight for sore eyes.

Plus, she was straight, so it was completely harmless.

Right?

_Costia:_  
“I knew it!” she laughed. “It worked, though... I was already thinking about getting on a plane to kick her ass,” she joked.

 _Lexa:_  
“Won't be necessary,” she smiled. “Plus, she's straight, and she has a boyfriend...”

 _Costia:_  
“Good... Cause you're mine!” she said playfully. “Okay, babe... I'll leave you to it... I have to get ready anyway...”

 _Lexa:_  
“Going out?”

 _Costia:_  
“Yeah, but no alcohol tonight... We'll just hang out at _100 Montaditos_.”

 _Lexa:_  
“Cool... Have fun, baby!”

 _Costia:_  
“You too! Love ya!”

 _Lexa:_  
“I love you too.”

They ended the phone call, and Lexa finally felt that she could relax for the first time after seeing that video on Instagram.

She was now convinced she had overreacted and felt significantly more optimistic about her relationship with Costia, ready to resume her plans to give her a surprise visit in December.

After picking up her bag and her penny board, she hurried out of the locker room, curious to see if Clarke was waiting for her.

To her surprise, the blonde was still there; she was leaning against a car, and Finn was standing fairly close to her, with his hands placed on her hips.

They were obviously flirting, and Lexa found it hard to look away when Finn whispered something in Clarke's ear, making her giggle.

Just as she was about to walk in the opposite direction, she heard Clarke calling her name and saw her waving at her. Lexa waved back, but instead of going over to Clarke, she put her penny board on the ground, ready to ride off.

“Lexa, wait!” she heard Clarke's voice again and stayed put as she watched the blonde run towards her. “Hey... I thought we were going home together?” she said once she stood in front of her.

“Looks like you have a ride...” Lexa replied, looking at Finn in the distance, over Clarke's shoulder.

“Oh, he just finished his football practice and offered to take me home, but I told him I was going to walk with you...”

“You didn't have to do that...” Lexa said, trying not to sound too annoyed.

Why was she annoyed, anyway?

“Go with him, I have my board...” she added.

“No, I made plans with you first...” Clarke insisted.

“Clarke, it's not like it's set in stone,” Lexa smiled. “I'm fine going by myself, really...”

“Sorry, too late!” Clarke said as she recognized the sound of Finn's car, and Lexa saw him drive out of the parking lot. “You don't know me well yet, but you'll see I'm all about friends before boys... Or, well... girls, in your case…” she added, making Lexa smile. “Shall we?”

“Alright,” Lexa said before she bent over, and a sharp pain in her ribs made her wince as she was picking up her penny board from the ground.

“Here, let me carry it,” Clarke offered, noticing the pain on Lexa's face.

“It's fine, thank you,” Lexa declined and started walking.

“It's not fine,” Clarke suddenly stood in front of her, getting in her way. “It's either the skateboard or the sports bag... Your choice,” she said, raising an eyebrow and staring at Lexa.

“Fine,” the brunette rolled her eyes and gave her the penny board. “Happy now?”

“Hmm... Pretty much, yup!” she grinned as they started walking across the parking lot.

“Do you always get what you want, Clarke?” Lexa teased her, surprised at her own audacity.

“Ask me again in a year,” Clarke smiled softly, maybe a little less enthusiastic than what Lexa had expected. “By the way, I love how you pronounce my name...”

“Oh... Am I doing it wrong?” Lexa asked, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“No, not at all!” Clarke's smile widened. “It's just that everything sounds more... sophisticated in your accent... I like it.”

“Oh... Um... Thank you... I guess?” Lexa said, unable to stop the hot flush spreading to her cheeks.

“And I must sound like a peasant to you...”

“No!” Lexa was quick to reply. “I think you're cute... I mean, your accent...” she hurried to correct herself. “Your accent is cute...”

By the time she finished the sentence, her cheeks had already acquired a dark red tone, which didn't go unnoticed by Clarke, thinking it was absolutely adorable.

“I find that hard to believe,” she chuckled, “but thank you for being nice.”

Lexa was still quite busy blushing, and couldn't think of a reply before Clarke continued the conversation.

“So... How come you used to live in Spain?” she asked.

“My dad was the ambassador at the Australian embassy in Madrid... We move a lot because of his job.”

“Oh wow... So, where else did you live before Spain?” Clarke was curious.

“Our first move was to London, when I was four years old... Four years later, we moved to Berlin, and we spent the last four years in Madrid...”

“And you saved the best for last, I see…” Clarke chuckled.

Lexa looked at her, and after making sure she was being sarcastic, she laughed as well.

“It's not that bad...” she finally said, shrugging.

“You're too nice, you know that?” Clarke glanced at her, unable to stop smiling.

Lexa just kept walking next to her, with her head tilted downwards, almost as if she were afraid to meet her eyes.

“Was it hard? Moving so much?” Clarke continued with the questions.

“Not so much when I was younger...” Lexa replied. “But the last time was brutal...”

“Because you had to leave your girlfriend behind?”

“In part, yes...” Lexa nodded. “But also, because I was really starting to enjoy living in Spain... It had a really good influence on my creativity... Plus, I made friends... And I had Costia, of course...”

“Are you an artist?” Clarke asked excitedly, wondering if maybe they had more in common than she had thought.

“I'm a writer,” Lexa replied. “Um... Trying to be one, at least...”

“Oh! Right! I remember Principal Jaha saying something about it when he walked you to Mr. Kane's class,” Clarke suddenly remembered.

“Yeah... Quite embarrassing...” Lexa smiled.

“What? Why?”

“I don't know...” Lexa shrugged. “I guess I don't care too much for introductions...”

“Do you write poems? Like the one Nathan read in class yesterday?”

“No... I do like poems, but I write prose... Novels... Although this year I've decided to adapt some of the stuff I've written for a screenplay...”

“Yeah?” Clarke was intrigued. “What's the genre?”

“Haven't decided yet... It's something between sci fi and romance...”

“Cool! Tell me more!”

“Oh, no... It's still kind of... In the making...”

“Oh, come on...” Clarke insisted. “I promise I won't steal your idea and become a millionaire,” she added, making Lexa smile. “Please?”

“Okay...” she agreed, realizing that, for some reason, she found it extremely hard to say no to the blonde. “Um... It's sort of a... Love story in a post-apocalyptic world...” she said quietly, and looked at Clarke, finding nothing but genuine interest in her big, blue eyes. “There's a huge nuclear explosion that nearly destroys the world... And only a small part of the human race manages to survive in a space station, where they live for nearly 100 years before they dare to go back to Earth, to find out if it is habitable... So, the people in charge send a group of young delinquents down to Earth to... Well, to check it out... To see if there is radiation... And one of them is a young woman called Eliza... So... They arrive to Earth, and realize that not only it's habitable, but it looks like there are survivors... People, some of them with blood mutation that had made it possible for them to survive the nuclear blast and the effects of the radiation... And they are now a tribe, the Grounders, led by a strong, fearless young woman called Heda... Commander Heda...” Lexa paused, and looked at Clarke, hoping she hadn't made a fool of herself.

“What happens next?” Clarke's eyes widened, and she seemed deeply intrigued.

“Well... The Sky people... That's how the Grounders will call them... They will be led by Eliza... There will be some incidents between them and the Grounders, so she will have to negotiate for peace with their leader... Who happens to be Heda... The woman with whom she will fall madly in love...”

“And then?? Will Heda love her back?”

“Well... I haven't gotten that far yet...”

“Oh no! I'm hooked already!” Clarke exclaimed. “You have to finish it! It's really good!”

“You really... Like it?” Lexa asked, sounding surprised and a bit insecure.

“Like it?” Clarke chuckled. “I love it! You're really talented!”

“Thanks...” Lexa smiled, feeling the heat in her cheeks again.

For a moment, she became aware of their steps, their slow, calm walk, and the pleasant silence that settled between them; one that didn't feel uncomfortable, which she found to be a bit strange, considering how hard it was for her to open up to others.

“What about you?” - she asked Clarke.

“What about me?”

“Um... What do you like doing?”

“Oh... I like drawing, painting... I love art...”

“That's amazing! What do you like to draw?”

“Portraits, mostly... Sometimes I like to mix it up with some abstract elements... I guess I'm still discovering my style...”

“So, is that what you want to study in college?”

“Yes...”

“Cool... Do you post some of your work on Instagram or other social media? I'd like to check it out...”

“Oh, God no... My mom would kill me,” Clarke replied quickly.

“What?” Lexa frowned. “Why?”

“She doesn't want her daughter to be an artist... According to her, art is a hobby, not a profession,” Clarke said, sounding annoyed, but also hurt.

“That makes as much sense as Trump's politics on immigrants,” Lexa replied, meeting Clarke's eyes. “You know she's dead wrong, right?” she asked after receiving a smile from the blonde.

“Thanks for saying that,” Clarke said, feeling grateful for Lexa's comment. “And yes... I know she's wrong, which is why I'm hoping to get a scholarship to study Art... She's made it clear in more than one occasion that the only thing she's willing to pay for is med school...”

“Med school?” Lexa frowned. “But... She can't force you to study Medicine... She can't, and more importantly, she shouldn't! One should become a doctor only if they feel passionate about it...”

“I said that exact same thing to her...” Clarke sighed. “She insists that I'll fall into it and love it...”

“Why med school, though? Is she a doctor?”

“She was supposed to become one...”

“So... Why didn't she?” Lexa was curious. “What happened?”

“ _I_ happened...” Clarke said, tilting her head down. “My parents, they've been together since forever... After high school, my dad went to Houston University on a football scholarship, and my mom turned down Harvard so she could stay close to him... Her parents were not pleased, to say the least, but she managed to convince them to get her into Baylor College of Medicine, here in Houston... She did about a year and a half, and then my dad had a serious knee injury, so she decided to take some time off to take care of him... His mother, my grandma, had died a few years earlier, and my grandpa was working all the time, so my dad didn't have anyone but my mom...” Clarke explained.

“That was very generous of her...” Lexa commented.

“Yeah... Her parents were pissed, though... You see, they didn't like my dad... They felt she was too good for him... They come from a long line of doctors and inventors in the field of Medicine, so the path was pretty much paved for their only daughter to follow... But... Instead of resuming her studies, she got pregnant, and her parents threatened to disown her if she didn't get an abortion... She hasn't spoken to them since...”

“Jesus...” Lexa was shocked. “How do you know all this? Did she tell you?”

“Oh no... She would never,” Clarke smiled. “One day we had a huge fight and I said that I bet she wished I was never born... She just stared at me, speechless... I'll never forget the look on her face... She didn't say anything; she turned around and went upstairs just as my dad walked through the door... He had heard the last part, so then he sat me for a talk and told me everything...”

“That's... Intense... Have you ever met them? Your grandparents?”

“No, never... I don't even know what they look like,” Clarke replied. “I know they were not invited to the wedding... Mom was completely written off... Luckily, Grandpa Griffin's car sales business had flourished by then, so he bought a house for my parents, and once my dad finished his studies, my grandpa turned the company over to my dad... And that's about it... God, I must've bored you to death with this story!” Clarke chuckled. “Sorry about that! I swear I'm not usually this chatty...”

“Not at all, really!” Lexa hurried to reply. “I was all but bored, I promise...”

“Even so... Let's talk about something else,” Clarke suggested. “Your turn... Tell me about your girlfriend.”

“Costia?” Lexa frowned, surprised by the direction of the conversation.

“Yeah... Unless you have another one?” Clarke joked.

“Definitely not,” Lexa laughed. “I'm not cool enough for that.”

“You seem pretty cool to me,” Clarke's smile widened as she looked at Lexa, noticing how her cheeks turned a bit reddish, just around her cheekbones. “So, how long have you been together?”

“It'll be 7 months on the 14th of September.”

“Wow... Cool...” Clarke said and paused to do the math. “You started dating on Valentine's day?”

“Yeah... She left a note in my locker at school, asking me to be her Valentine…” Lexa explained.

“Awww... That's cute.”

“It would've been if I hadn't thought it was some sort of prank...”

“What?” Clarke was confused. “Why did you think that?”

“Well, she was the most popular girl there and I was... Well, me...”

“What's wrong with you… being you?” Clarke frowned.

Just as Lexa started working on the answer in her mind, they heard a male voice, coming from a car that had approached them, stopping near the sidewalk.

“Hey, kiddo!”

Clarke recognized her father's voice and walked over to the car.

“Hey, dad...” she smiled at him, leaning over the half-open window on the front passenger's side.

“Need a ride?” he offered.

“Dad, we live literally around the corner... I think we can manage the last 50 yards or so...” she laughed and turned around to look at Lexa.

“Who's your friend?” Jake asked in a curious tone, peeking over Clarke's shoulder.

“This is Lexa, our new neighbor…” Clarke introduced her. “Lexa, this is my dad.”

Jake quickly got out of the car and approached Lexa with a big smile on his face, and she could immediately see the resemblance to Clarke.

“Gus and Becca's kid?” he asked as he stretched out his arm toward her. “Nice to meet you, Lexa!”

“Yes... Nice to meet you too,” she replied as she shook his hand.

“Clarke told me you have some classes together...”

“We do, yes...” she smiled timidly.

“And now we'll be teammates as well!” Clarke added excitedly.

“Really? You're on the team?” his smile widened. “Good job!” he said, placing his hand on her shoulder.

“Um... I'm not, actually... The tryouts were today...”

“Yeah, but you nailed it!” Clarke said. “You're in, I have no doubt about it!”

“Oh, I would listen to Clarke... She must've seen something special in you,” Jake winked at Lexa, and then turned to his daughter, leaving the brunette blushing. “Isn't that right, champ?”

Clarke simply nodded, wondering why her father's words made her heart beat faster, and she could feel her palms starting to sweat as she glanced quickly at Lexa.

“Alright, I'll see you at home!” Jake interrupted the moment, walking away from them. “Say hi to your parents for me, will you?” he said, looking at Lexa, about to get in the car. “And tell them we should have dinner soon... The Grifiins and the Woods,” he added before he disappeared inside the car.

“Will do...” Lexa managed to say, unsure if he had heard her before he drove off.

“I think our parents really hit it off at the party the other day,” Clarke commented as they started walking again.

“Looks like it, yes…” Lexa smiled.

“You didn't feel like coming to the party?”

“Um... I was talking to Costia on Skype...”

“Right...” Clarke nodded, trying to think of what to say next.

“But I don't think I would've come anyway... Parties are not my cup of tea...”

“I wish I could’ve skipped it too... My mom's Labor Day parties are a drag...”

“It sounded like you were having fun, though...” Lexa said, regretting it immediately as she realized that Clarke would now probably think that she had been spying on her.

Which she wasn't.

Well... Not intentionally.

“What do you mean?” Clarke frowned and looked at Lexa, waiting for an explanation.

“Um... No, it's just that... Uh...” Lexa hesitated, looking at the ground. “Just as I finished talking to Costia, I heard some noise coming from your backyard... And I looked out the window... I saw you and some of your friends by the pool...”

“Oh, right! That was the after-party,” Clarke replied, suddenly becoming aware of the fact that she had been wearing a very revealing bikini the first time Lexa had seen her.

But why should that matter anyway?

And why was it making her feel nervous?

“I hope we weren't being too loud...” she said after a short pause.

“Oh, no...” Lexa hurried to reply. “I watched some Netflix and fell asleep...” she added as they slowed down, stopping in front of her house. “Um... Thanks for walking me home,” she joked, feeling more relaxed now that they had arrived at their destination.

“My pleasure,” Clarke gave her a broad smiled. “It was a bit out of my way, but I didn't mind,” she played along.

“Well, I guess I'll have to return the favor someday...” Lexa blurted out before realizing it might've sounded a lot flirtier than she had intended.

It wasn't meant to sound flirty at all, actually.

Flirting wasn't Lexa's strong suit; on the contrary, she was quite terrible at it.

So how did she manage to sound so smooth just now, without even trying?

And what if Clarke now thought that she was hitting on her?

Just as she was about to enter into panic mode, she heard Clarke chuckle, and she timidly looked up from the ground, meeting her big, blue eyes.

“I'll be looking forward to it,” the blonde said, touching Lexa's upper arm before she walked away from her.

Lexa found herself unable to move as her eyes followed Clarke walking on the sidewalk in the direction of her house. Just as she reached the front yard, she turned around and waved at Lexa, who managed to react quickly and waved back at her before she dashed towards the front door, eager to get inside.


	7. Intuition

The first thing Lexa did as soon as she arrived at school was to leave her penny board in the locker and go directly to the bulletin board where the coach had said that they would find the list with the results of the tryouts.

She'd gotten up surprisingly early that day, but felt quite relaxed; or at least she'd thought she did, until her nervousness made its appearance just around the time she left the house.

That morning she had opted for black skinny jeans, rolled up above her ankles, Vans sneakers and a basic black T-shirt with the “Santa Cruz” logo printed in rainbow tones on the side on her chest, a suggestive but discreet "secret" message.

After finishing her delicious oatmeal smoothie, she left the house, saying goodbye to her parents, who wished her good luck just as the day before.

But by the time she found herself in front of the board, Lexa's nervousness was simply at its peak, causing her heart to want to jump out of her chest.

Until that moment, she had felt confident.

She knew she had done well, but the number of players that had presented themselves at the tryouts was bigger than the number of available spots on the team, so the odds were not too great.

Upon arrival, she soon realized that she was not the only one feeling anxious to look at that list; she was able to recognize some of the girls she had played with the previous day, seeing the disappointment on their faces, which encouraged and discouraged her at the same time.

She wanted to be on the team, but she thought that, in case she hadn’t made it, she could settle for the literature club or the school magazine, if there were any places left. To be honest, since the moment Gaia had told her about the basketball tryouts, she had not even stopped to think about any other possibilities.

She waited patiently until a gap finally opened in front of the board, at which point she took the opportunity to go over and look up her name in what seemed like a long list.

“Told ya…”

All the hair on the back of Lexa's neck stood on end when she heard Clarke's raspy voice close to her ear, a smile stretching her lips as she found her name near the end of the list and then the words “small forward” next to it.

It was a strange sensation that the brunette could not decipher at that moment, but her immediate reaction was to turn around, with her heart racing even more, meeting smiling blue eyes.

“Congratulations!” Clarke added, amused by the brunette's reaction, and once she was fully in front of her, she quickly scanned her from head to toes.

“Thanks ...” she replied, narrowing her green eyes as she caught the soft scent of the blonde’s perfume; a fine mixture of vanilla and cinnamon that tickled her nose.

Or was it the smell of her hair?

She noticed that she was wearing it down and it looked slightly wet, almost as if she had just stepped out of the shower, giving her a most refreshing look, completing her outfit with a pair of skinny jeans, a loose white cotton V-neck T-shirt, and a flannel shirt.

The blonde adjusted her backpack on her left shoulder and looked at Lexa with that same smile as she spoke again.

“Coming?”

Lexa nodded and followed closely down the hallway toward the staircase.

They walked slowly, in silence.

Clarke greeted many of the students passing by but did not stop, which Lexa appreciated, especially since it was clear to her that the blonde was quite popular.

“My intuition rarely fails me ... you know?” Clarke boasted, drawing Lexa's attention.

Lexa smiled, tilting her head slightly to the opposite side.

“I'm afraid I'm going to need more empirical evidence on the matter ...” she replied, still suffering the effects of that chill down her spine.

Clarke wrinkled her nose, aware that Lexa was just making fun of her.

“Hmm ... Is it just me or was there a hint of skepticism in your words?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Hmm ... I don't know ... you'll have to check with your intuition,” Lexa replied, imitating her tone.

They held their gazes for a few seconds, challenging each other until for some reason they couldn't hold it in and laughed at the same time, which made them feel foolish enough that for the next few seconds neither of them dared to say anything.

They reached the top floor and walked toward the classroom.

“Last night ...” Clarke continued, now lowering her voice, “... I felt quite inspired and managed to draw something ...”

“Yeah?” Lexa was delighted. “Had it been a while?”

“I prefer to do it when my mother is not at home,” she explained.

Lexa grimaced, remembering the conversation they'd had the day before.

“Sure ...” the brunette commented, not sure what to say.

“But yesterday, after talking to you ...” she continued, “…I felt quite encouraged.”

“What did you work on?” Lexa asked, showing her interest.

“Meh ... nothing important ...” she replied. “I made some sketches that I may develop later ... but the important thing is that I have not felt this inspired in a long time ...”

“Will you show me?”

Clarke thought for a few seconds and, taking advantage of Lexa's curiosity, she responded playfully.

“Maybe...”

Lexa frowned.

“Is there any room for negotiation?” Lexa insisted.

“Um ...” The blonde started working on her answer, but Lexa spoke again.

“Last night, I felt inspired as well ...” she said, getting Clarke’s attention.

Her blue eyes were wide open, and she looked at her with that same interest from the previous day.

Lexa held back a smile.

She was telling the truth, though.

After sharing the plot of her story with Clarke and discovering that someone else might like it as well, the brunette had felt more determined to continue writing it. However, this time, her intention was not to reveal her progress, or at least not yet, but to intrigue the blonde a bit more and extort something from her in the process.

That was why she said nothing and waited patiently, feeling Clarke grow impatient as each second went by.

“So ... did you advance a lot in your story?” she insisted.

“Maybe ...” Lexa replied, playing hard to get.

“Oh! I see ...” Clarke exclaimed, understanding everything. “So that’s how it’s gonna be, huh?”

Lexa shrugged and hid an amused smile.

“Alright, alright… Let's make a deal…” the blonde suggested, accepting Lexa's game. “I'll show you some of my drawings and you will update me with your story.”

Lexa was preparing the answer in her head, feeling satisfied with the outcome, but just as she was about to reply, they ran into Finn leaning against the wall in front of the classroom, waiting for Clarke.

“Hello ...” he greeted, looking at the blonde with a radiant smile and waving at the both of them.

“Hi ...” Clarke greeted him.

Lexa nodded at him but didn't stop.

“See you later ...” she said to Clarke, heading towards the door.

“Okay ...” Clarke replied as she stood in front of Finn.

“Hey beautiful ... How are you?”

Lexa caught Finn’s words as she stepped inside and started looking for an empty desk.

Gaia occupied a seat in the corner of the classroom, near the window, and when she saw Lexa, she made a gesture with her hand, inviting her to sit at un unoccupied desk next to hers.

“Congrats!” she congratulated Lexa, when she sat on the chair, leaving her backpack aside on the floor. “Welcome to the team ...”

“Thank you ...” Lexa smiled.

“Ready for the action?” Gaia asked, leaning towards her just as the Spanish teacher entered class.

Clarke came in immediately after, looking back and saying goodbye to Finn before she spotted Lexa already sitting in the back.

She found a seat for her, several rows in front, and sat down after taking one last look at the brunette, who hadn’t noticed her as she seemed quite busy talking to Gaia.

* * *

It wasn't until practice time that Lexa and Clarke met again. They had only three classes in common, Literature, Spanish and Mathematics, so they had not seen each other for the rest of the day.

During the break, Clarke was also unable to locate her and had her lunch with Octavia and Raven, as usual, as well as Finn, who had joined them for dessert.

When she got to the gym, Lexa was already there, changed for practice, doing some stretching while chatting with Gaia, Luna and Niylah.

Coach Indra appeared, drawing everyone's attention, and welcomed the new players. Immediately afterwards she reported that the team would play a friendly match the following week against another high school team, so the training sessions would be somewhat more intense.

“Alright ... the starting lineup for the game will be: Niylah, Clarke, Gaia, Luna and Lexa.”

Lexa flinched at the information, feeling all eyes on her.

“But ... coach ...” Ontari protested.

“It has been decided ... Alright, warm up, everybody!” she instructed, ending the conversation.

The brunette clenched her jaw and looked at Lexa; it was a look that was filled with frustration and anger.

They did the typical warm-up, passing, dribbling, shooting, and doing the most common exercises. They then proceeded to free throws, layups, rebound and going to a new position to take another shot, controlling their speed and accuracy. And finally, they ended the practice with a game, including the whole team to play 5-to-5.

Indra considered the training sufficient and sent them to cool down, emphasizing the importance of stretching to avoid muscle injuries, after which she said goodbye until Saturday, leaving the girls in the gym.

After the stretches, Clarke approached Lexa with a wide smile on her lips.

“Don't tell me you had sensed this too ...” Lexa joked, rolling her eyes.

Clarke laughed.

“Well, I knew it was going to happen sooner or later ...”

“Right ...” Lexa laughed as well, grabbing her towel on her way to the locker room.

“Although ...” the blonde added.

“What?” Lexa hesitated.

“I’d be very careful around Ontari ... I've seen how she looks at you and ... I don't like it ...”

“Do you think she could try to hurt me ... physically?” Lexa asked, surprised more by what the blonde had confessed than by the possibility of Ontari hurting her.

Had Clarke been watching her?

Did she sound… worried?

“Well, you know she can be quite aggressive ...”

“Luckily, I have a nice bruise on my ribs to refresh my memory,” Lexa joked, without giving it much importance.

“Yeah ...” Clarke thought for a few seconds with a half-smile on her face as they entered the locker room. “Are you going home? Wanna go together?”

“Lexa!” Gaia stood in front of them, already showered and ready to go, just when Lexa was about to give an answer to the blonde. “I'll wait for you in the parking lot.”

“Okay…”

She left, followed by Luna, and said goodbye to Clarke with a wave of her hand, to which the blonde responded with a nod of her head.

Lexa felt somewhat uncomfortable about the situation, especially when she noticed the surprise and disappointment on Clarke's face.

“I already made plans with the girls to go to the mall ...” Lexa excused herself.

“Ah ... sure ... it's not like it's set in stone ... right?” she said, reminding her of her own words. “Some other day, then…” she added, forcing a smile as she went to her locker.

“Yes ... of course ...” Lexa said quietly, doing the same.

She grabbed a clean towel and stepped into one of the showers, feeling some heaviness on her shoulders, thinking Clarke might have been upset.

Which wasn’t the case; on the contrary, Clarke was glad that Lexa had made friends so soon, considering how difficult it must have been for her to have moved to a new place where she did not know anyone.

But then, why was she so disappointed?

Clarke had never been a possessive person and was friendly with her friends' friends; however, this time around, she simply didn't feel the same way.

Raven appeared just then, looking for her, and interrupted her thinking.

“Hey, blondie! We finished practice twenty minutes ago, but decided to wait for you… You comin’?”

“Yes ... give me five minutes.”

“Cool!” she answered jovially.

By the time Clarke came out of the shower, Lexa had already left the locker room.

She put on her clothes, grabbed her gym bag with her dirty sportswear, and headed toward the parking lot, where Octavia and Raven were waiting for her.

* * *

The girls unanimously decided to spend the rest of the afternoon together, taking advantage of the fact that they had some free time before things would become more difficult, between practice, extracurricular tasks, and exams, and taking advantage of the fact that the blonde's parents were out getting some groceries for the weekend.

This time it was Clarke who sat in the front and Raven in the back seat, in which she settled as if she were about to watch a movie on the sofa at home.

Octavia protested, asking her to buckle up, when she realized her friend's recklessness.

“Oh, come on! What difference does it make? It’s just a short ride ...” the Latina protested.

Octavia stopped the car immediately, giving her a serious look.

“Alright ... fine ...” Raven agreed, raising her hands in peace.

She buckled up and sat up properly, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Hey, O ... You seem tense ... Is something wrong?” she asked boldly in a sarcastic tone.

Octavia rolled her eyes and looked ahead, putting the car back into gear.

“What did I miss?” Clarke asked, first looking directly at Octavia beside her and then at Raven, just behind her.

The designated driver said nothing and kept her eyes fixed on the road.

“Dunno, dunno…. It seems to me that O feels a bit frustrated because… Gabriel…” she said, putting an emphasis on the name, “…. won't be her teacher this year ...”

“Pfff as if ...” the brunette protested.

“Are you still fantasizing about him?” Clarke asked, laughing.

“No!” she snorted. “How was practice?” She quickly changed the subject, focusing all her attention on Clarke.

“Good ...”

“Lexa is on the team, right? We saw her with Gaia in the parking lot and figured she came out of the gym ...”

“Yes ...” Clarke replied, reminded of the discomfort she had felt minutes ago.

“I didn't see her at lunch ...” Octavia continued, in an attempt to totally and definitely divert the attention from her infatuation with the Spanish teacher.

“She probably had lunch with Gaia ... under the bleachers ...” Raven joked, moving her eyebrows in a mischievous gesture. “Looks like they’re getting along… if you know what I mean…”

Clarke looked out of the window, deciding not to comment on it; at that moment she felt an unexpected heat rise to her ears, imagining the kinds of things that Raven suggested they might have been doing.

“Dude ... Lexa has a girlfriend, remember?” Octavia said.

“Sure ... on another continent!” Raven chuckled.

“I think Lexa is very much in love ...” Clarke intervened at last, putting her faith into long distance relationships.

“It won't work ...” Raven appreciated.

“Since when are you a fortune teller?” Octavia scoffed.

“Wanna bet?” she replied, knowing Octavia wouldn't miss an opportunity like that.

“Nah ... pass ...”

“Thought so ... ‘cause you know I'm right ...” she laughed. “As usual.”

Octavia rolled her eyes as she parked in front of Clarke's house, and they got out of the car and entered through the back door, where they found Madi in the garden sunbathing on one of the deckchairs.

Clarke went up to her room to change, fleeing the conversation between them, while Octavia and Raven stayed with Madi chatting by the pool.

Ten minutes later, Clarke joined them in her bikini and brought some soda drinks, finding Madi and the girls talking animatedly.

“Clarkie!” The Latina exclaimed when she noticed her. “Why didn't you tell us about your parents?”

“Huh?” Clarke frowned.

“About your parents going away for the weekend!”

“Ah… that…” she replied, shrugging.

“Where are they going, by the way?” Octavia asked.

“To Austin… To the Annual Conference of the Texas Automobile Dealers Association.”

“Who cares?!” Raven interrupted. “Guys ... you know what this means, right?” she said with a wide smile on her face, moving her eyebrows playfully. “Party!” she exclaimed before any of her friends could answer.

“No, Ray ... Mom would kill us,” Clarke said, shaking her head.

“Mom’s not gonna find out,” Madi commented. “Come on, Clarke ...”

“Yes, dude… come on…” the Latina insisted.

“Ugh ... okay ... but it's not a party! We're going to invite only our closest friends, okay?”

“You don't have to worry about a thing, blondie ... I'll take care of it,” Raven said in an assuring tone, winking at her.

“Yeah ... that's exactly what I was afraid of ...” Clarke said, making her friends and her sister laugh.

A couple of hours later, Octavia and Raven said goodbye to Madi and walked out, accompanied by Clarke, and waved at Mrs. Griffin, who had almost caught them planning the weekend behind her back.

“Phew… that was close ...” Raven sighed, pretending to wipe sweat off her forehead.

“I don't know if it's a good idea…” Clarke said, still not entirely convinced.

“Of course it is!” the Latina replied, lowering her voice. “We'll say it's just one of our sleepovers ...” she added, trying to convince Clarke.

Clarke sighed, aware that the decision had already been made, especially since they had Madi's support.

Just as Octavia and Raven were preparing to get into the car, Gaia was dropping Lexa off at her house. When the brunette got out of the car, she noticed the trio looking in her direction and greeted them with her hand as Gaia stood next to her.

“Hey, girls!” Raven said as she approached them.

Clarke looked at her friend, sensing what she was about to do and didn't know how to feel about it. What at first had emerged as a simple get-together with a few friends, was about to become a big party.

“Good news, girls…” Raven continued just as Octavia and Clarke joined them. “This Saturday we are meeting at Clarke's house ... Papa and Momma Griffin will be back on Sunday afternoon, so ...”

“Party?” Gaia asked, smiling.

“No…” Clarke joined the conversation, drawing the attention of Lexa and Gaia. “More like a get-together with friends ... just us here and a few more ...” she said, perhaps trying to convince herself.

“Yes, but you can invite your teammates… right, Clarke?” Octavia said.

“Sure, yeah…” Clarke smiled.

“And your boyfriends ... or girlfriends,” Raven continued, winking at Gaia. “Well, Lexa, in your case it would be… uh, well, a little difficult, but we could make a video call and get to know each other a little better… and make the party international!” She exclaimed enthusiastically.

“Um…” Lexa spoke, scratching the back of her neck.

She cocked her head, perhaps seeking the approval of the blonde, who now looked at her with great interest, remembering what Lexa had said about how she felt about parties.

“I'm in,” Gaia said, looking quite interested and surprising Clarke, as she had expected a different reaction from her after the mention of Lexa's girlfriend.

Maybe she already knew?

Had Lexa told her?

But then… why did she keep showing such interest in her, knowing she had a girlfriend?

“That’s the spirit!” Raven exclaimed, before leaning with her elbow on Lexa's shoulder. “Come on ...” she encouraged her, talking to her closely. “We'll have a blast… right, Clarke?”

“Sure ...” the blonde confirmed.

“Um ... okay ... I'll think about it ...” Lexa finally answered, without taking her eyes off her neighbor.

“Cool ... see ya,” Gaia said as she walked to her car, before starting the engine and driving off.

“Don't forget, the rule is BYOB… see ya!” Raven said on the way to Octavia's car.

They said goodbye to Lexa and Clarke, who suddenly found themselves alone, facing each other, not quite sure what to say.

The sound of an incoming text message startled Lexa, as she was holding the phone in her hand.

“Aren’t you gonna answer?” Clarke asked when she saw Lexa did not unlock the screen.

“Uh… yes...”

“I'll leave you to it...” Clarke smiled as she turned around. “Oh ... and I hope to see you at the party ...” she added, without looking back.

Lexa watched her walk toward the front yard, noticing how a smile was beginning to draw on her face. She looked back at her phone when the blonde disappeared behind the gate.

**_Text message:_ **

_Costia:_  
“Wanna chat? I'm horny ...”

Lexa typed her answer quickly, feeling the heat spread to her crotch as she ran to the house.

**_Text message:_ **

_Lexa:_  
“Skype in five minutes ...”


	8. The Party

On Saturday morning, Lexa and Clarke were walking home from their practice, talking about the upcoming game, among other things, and Lexa had quickly realized that she enjoyed these walks with the blonde, feeling anxious for it to become a regular thing between the two of them, as they trained four times a week.

Shortly before 11 a.m., their 30-minute walk was coming to an end when they stood in front of Lexa's house, reluctant to say goodbye.

“So ... will I see you later? You didn't write anything in the group chat…” Clarke asked, trying to get Lexa to confirm her attendance at the party.

“Um…” Lexa bit her lower lip, hesitating. “Who else is coming?”

“Hm ... let's see ...” Clarke replied, preparing to count on her fingers. “Raven, Octavia, Bell, Murphy, Nathan, Eric, Monty and Jasper ... uh ... Finn, maybe Linc?” She paused. “Luna said she would come, right? Harper and Maya too… And Gaia… That I know of, at least…” she smiled, thinking about her friend Raven and wondering who else she might have invited to her house.

“That’s quite a number…” Lexa commented, raising her eyebrows.

“To be honest, I would’ve preferred if it were just us, the girls… But you know how’s Raven…”

“Yeah…”

“I know you don’t like parties, but… I’d really like it if you’d come…” the blonde said, keeping the eye contact.

“I’ll be there,” Lexa blurted out, confirming once again that it was impossible for her to say no to those big blue eyes.

Clarke’s smile widened as she stood on her tiptoes and surprised Lexa by wrapping her arms around her shoulders, giving her an unexpected hug.

Just as Lexa was trying to figure out what to do with her hands, they heard Raven’s voice.

“Got ya!” she exclaimed from the front passenger seat as Octavia parked her convertible by the sidewalk.

Clarke and Lexa immediately moved away from each other, feeling as if they had been caught in the act, and saw Raven holding her phone with the camera pointed towards them.

“Now you _have to_ come to the party!” she said with a grin on her face, enjoying the way Lexa’s cheeks turned bright red. “Unless you want to spend the rest of the day explaining to Costia who’s the blonde chick in the photo…”

“My God, Ray…” Clarke rolled her eyes. “You’re being ridiculous… Plus, Lexa already agreed to come to the party.”

“Awesome! So, listen…” the Latina continued, changing the subject. “Roan will bring a beer keg later, and Kyle has a fake ID, so he’ll get us gin and vodka…”

“Ugh…” Clarke frowned. “Roan’s coming?”

“It’s fiiiine… He was at your mom’s Labor Day party and didn’t get in a fight with anyone,” Raven reminded her.

“We’re gonna go grab some snacks and soda drinks, juice, and all that stuff now…” Octavia joined the conversation, looking at Clarke. “We’ll bring it all here in an hour, okay?”

“Okay, cool… When is everyone coming, then?”

“Around… five-ish?” Octavia replied.

“Sounds good… Don’t forget to bring your bathing suit,” Clarke reminded them.

“Alright… see you soon!”

Octavia and Raven took off, leaving Clarke and Lexa behind.

“Sorry about Ray…” Clarke said, noticing that Lexa hadn’t said a word since the awkward moment after the hug.

“Oh, no… it’s fine,” Lexa smiled, trying to sound relaxed.

“Um… so, I was thinking… could you maybe ask your parents not to mention the party… if they talk to my parents when they come back?”

“Of course, yeah… My parents are pretty chill about stuff like that… no worries,” Lexa reassured her.

“Thanks,” Clarke gave her a big smile as she started walking backwards. “See you later, Lexa…”

“Yes… see you soon,” Lexa waved awkwardly at her and hurried towards the front entrance door.

* * *

Lexa spent the rest of the morning at home, unable to avoid thinking about the party, and consequently felt nervous; too many people she didn't know, but she had already said that she would go, and it was too late to back down.

She occupied her time and kept her mind distracted, finding place for some of the things that she had not yet taken out of her boxes after the move; some decorative objects and memorabilia that she had kept from her travels, books and magazines, which she put on a shelf, helping her feel more at home.

She was still far from it; everything was new and different, but she had started on the right foot, and she had a feeling that this new stage would not be so bad after all.

When she was done arranging her room, her father asked her for help in the garage. In fact, it was just an excuse to chat about the party, give her some "tips" and to offer her a bottle of alcohol, without her mother’s knowledge, following the party’s BYOB rule.

After lunch, she took another shower and spent a few hours on the bed, listening to some music.

Just when she was starting to feel a little sleepy, she received a message from Costia and they chatted for a while, catching up on the latest news. There weren't many because they talked every day, but this time, after Costia told her that she would go out with the girls again, Lexa told her that she had made plans too and that she had accepted to go to her first party in the USA.

Her girlfriend was quite interested, surprised even, but she was glad to see that Lexa was starting to make new friends. She subjected her to a little questioning, however, to which Lexa answered with total sincerity, starting with who was organizing it, where it was being held, and who was going to be there.

Costia joked that she might feel jealous at her neighbor, reminding Lexa of what she had said about her appearance, but immediately afterwards she became affectionate and they changed the subject until they were interrupted by a message from Raven, telling Lexa to drag her ass to Clarke's house.

Lexa smiled as she read the message; she knew that the Latina could be quite intimidating, but she liked her, nevertheless. She said goodbye to Costia, agreeing to continue talking on Sunday, and she got dressed to go to the party.

It certainly wasn't the formal party her parents had attended at the blonde's house, so she didn't have to worry too much about her outfit.

She put on a triangle bikini top with a black and white pattern that mimicked waves, and a turquoise string side tie bikini bottom, on top of which she wore short jeans that she herself had cut the previous summer; so short that the inside of her pockets peeked a bit down her thighs. She finally completed the outfit with a basic white T-shirt that was quite baggy, and a red trucker hat with the Volcom logo in the center.

She grabbed her sunglasses and her backpack, in which she had kept the bottle her father had given her, and went downstairs, jumping the steps two at a time.

She said goodbye to her parents, who looked as excited as Lexa herself, happy to see her daughter quickly adapt to the new environment, and she crossed the garden to the blonde's garden, finding the back door left ajar.

However, she had to take a breath, feeling a bit nervous again when she heard the laughter and the sound of splashing water, probably caused by someone jumping into the pool.

Once there, she felt a little awkward; standing near the pool, all her gazes were on her, as if they had been waiting for her. Luckily, her hair, pushed a bit forward under the cap, hid much of her face, which made her feel protected in some way.

She could see Raven and Octavia waving at her, Gaia, Luna, and Niylah, who greeted her too; she also saw Finn, Bellamy and Roan chatting absentmindedly on the other side of the pool and the blonde quickly running to meet her with a huge, dazzling smile on her face.

“Hey! Welcome ... come in, don't just stand there ...” she said with a wave of her hand.

“Thank you ...” Lexa replied, slightly embarrassed.

She followed Clarke along the edge of the pool as she discreetly told her the names of the people they passed by, until they reached the table that Octavia and Raven had prepared with snacks. Lexa was grateful that the blonde did not make official introductions, otherwise she would have been too overwhelmed.

“Only our DJs are missing ...” she added, turning to Lexa.

“Djs?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Monty and Jasper ...” Clarke laughed, noticing the brunette's surprise.

She recognized Nathan and Murphy and spotted several younger individuals, running around one of the loungers.

Clarke followed her gaze.

“That’s my sister Madi, her boyfriend Luca and her best friend Rex.”

“Boyfriend?” The brunette hesitated, probably wondering about Madi’s age, which made Clarke chuckle.

“Yes ...” she finally answered. “Would you like a drink?”

“Oh ... I brought this ...” Lexa said, reaching inside her backpack, moment that the blonde took advantage of to observe her long legs.

Clarke took the bottle in her hands and read in Spanish.

“Ron ... pálido?” she narrowed her eyes. “Sounds very...”

“Spanish ... yes ...” Lexa smiled, shrugging. “My father insisted that I bring it ...”

“Really?”

“I told you my parents are chill...”

“I see ... and ... they don't mind if you drink?”

“Oh, well ... I don't really drink alcohol ...” she said, scratching her head. “I also brought some soda ...” she added.

“Alright, no problem ... I'll just have to drink it for you, then ...” she said, winking at her. “Any suggestions on how to prepare the drink?”

“Uh ... mix it with coke ...”

“Cool ...”

Clarke took out two tall glasses and put a couple of ice cubes in each. In one of them she added three fingers of rum and finished filling it with Coca-Cola, as the brunette had suggested, pouring the rest of the soda into the other glass, and gave it to Lexa.

She brought the glass to her lips while Lexa cocked her head, her glass in her hand, attentive to the reaction that the blonde would have when tasting the drink.

Clarke licked her lips and savored the mixture, widening her eyes.

“Too strong?” Lexa asked.

“Uh ... no ... well, maybe a little ... although ... mmm... it's good ...” she said before taking a bigger sip.

Lexa grinned and took a sip of her soda.

“You don't like alcohol?” Clarke asked, feeling curious about what the brunette had said earlier.

“Hey ...” Murphy surprised them before Lexa could answer. “What do we have here?” he asked as he took Clarke's glass and took a sip with a mischievous smile. “Hmm ... nice ... what is it?”

“Rum,” Lexa replied.

“Lexa brought it… from Spain,” Clarke said, emphasizing the origin of the drink.

“Wow ... so, Lexa ... what other delicious things did you bring from there?”

Clarke and Lexa laughed at the same time.

A conversation began between them, but Clarke excused herself when she heard someone calling her name.

“Sorry, I have to be a good hostess ...” she apologized with a smile, and started walking toward the group consisting of Finn, Bellamy and Roan.

Lexa observed her as she tried to pay attention to Murphy; she could see Finn placing his hand on Clarke’s waist, pulling her a little closer to him, and, just like that day in the parking lots, she had a hard time taking her eyes off them.

* * *

An hour later, everyone was showing the first effects of the alcohol and Lexa began to feel more comfortable and relaxed, a state to which the chill out music had also contributed, played by Monty and Jasper on a mixer they had equipped to the side, far from the pool and sheltered from the sun.

She spoke for a while with Gaia, Luna and Niylah about the upcoming friendly match they would play the following week, but they soon showed great interest in learning about Lexa's life and her experience in the different parts of the world where she had lived. They were joined by Octavia and Raven, who had also inquired about the reason Lexa had ended up in Houston, before suggesting going for a swim.

“Aaa ... it's too hot ...” Octavia snorted. “Let's get in the water!”

“Uuu ... good idea ... let's take a dip ...” Raven agreed, getting up from the lounger.

The girls did not hesitate and took off their shirts and pants to follow the Latina in a race towards the water.

“Are you joining, Lexa?” Octavia asked, in the middle of the race.

Lexa hesitated for a second.

She was hot, but she also felt a bit uncomfortable undressing in front of all those girls who glanced at her before jumping all together into the water.

“Come on, let's go!” Raven encouraged.

Lexa made a face. She looked around, noting that everyone else was busy with their drinks and chatting, as was Clarke who was still talking to Finn and the guys, with a new glass of rum in hand.

She finally took off her shirt and pants, leaving them next to her hat, her glasses and her backpack on one of the loungers and accompanied the girls, who jumped almost at the same time, splashing some of the water on her as she stood at the edge of the pool.

The contrast of the cold water on her hot skin gave her goose bumps.

She hated that, getting wet before gradually acclimatizing to the temperature, but this time she ignored her discomfort and dove headfirst into the water.

* * *

Clarke was in a middle of a conversation with Bellamy when she heard the girls’ laughter as they were jumping into the pool. She turned her head in the exact moment when a few drops of water landed on Lexa’s tanned body, standing at the edge, and it seemed to her that she was having second thoughts about joining the others.

Her eyes wandered off, shamelessly scanning the brunette from head to toes, spending a few extra seconds on her toned abdomen before she moved her gaze to her long legs. Suddenly she became aware of the lyrics of the music in the background; it was a song she had never heard before, but the words, along with the slow, sensual beat, sent chills down her spine.

Or maybe it was Lexa’s almost naked body?

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPNPS0L4cSM>

_I wanna feel you, I want it all  
I wanna feel you, I want it all   
Baby, I wanna touch you   
I wanna breathe into your will_

She didn’t have time to analyze the tension she felt in her lower abdomen at the sight in front of her; Lexa jumped into the water, and she did it so elegantly, leaving Clarke completely mesmerized, finding it hard to look away while biting her lower lip absentmindedly.

“… I think it was two years ago, right? Clarke?” Bellamy said, trying to get her attention. “Clarke?” he called her name again, seeing there was no reaction on her part.

“Huh?” she finally turned her head, meeting her friend’s dark brown eyes, looking at her with expectation.

“Singing karaoke at O’s birthday party? I was just telling the guys that you have a really good voice…” Bellamy clarified.

“Oh… um…” Clarke’s cheeks were burning, although it had nothing to do with the compliment. “That was… um… yeah…” she was finding it hard to make a full sentence with the image of Lexa in a bikini imprinted on her brain. “I’ll talk to you later…” she managed to say before she turned around and started walking towards the pool.

Bellamy and Finn looked at each other and shrugged, presuming Clarke was probably just being shy about her singing abilities, but they didn’t think much of it; they took a sip of their drinks and changed the subject.

Clarke’s whole body was on fire.

Her clothes suddenly felt too heavy, so she hurried to take them off, revealing her blue bikini; the same one she had been wearing at the Labor Day after-party.

As soon as she got rid of her t-shirt and her shorts, she glanced at the pool and immediately located Lexa in the water, leaning on the side of the pool. Their eyes met, and a big smile cropped up on her lips, responding to Lexa’s sheepish one.

“Clarkie! Get in!” Raven exclaimed when she noticed the blonde near the pool.

Lexa tried hard to look away as the blonde walked toward the pool ladder, and failing miserably, of course; her eyes followed Clarke’s every move.

The way her fingers wrapped around the steel pool handrails.

The way her breasts bounced up and down with each step she took down the ladder.

The way she flinched when she felt the cold water brush against her thighs, seconds before she dove in, disappearing under the surface.

Lexa ignored the throbbing between her legs as she waited for the blonde to emerge, which she did just a few moments later, right next to her.

“Hey…” Clarke smiled at her as she ran her fingers through her wet hair, leaning against the side of the pool. “Having fun?”

“Yes,” Lexa was quick to reply, smiling back at her. “It’s nice…”

“Thank God for the pool, though, right?”

“Definitely…” Lexa agreed.

“Hey, Clarke… Should we get some pizza delivery?” Octavia suggested, swimming toward them.

“Yeah, sure… Ask around who wants what first… Lexa, are you vegan?” she asked, remembering that she had the plant-based menu at the school cafeteria the day of the tryouts.

“Dude, not all lesbians are vegan…” Raven joined the conversation in her typical playful tone.

“This lesbian is, though…” Lexa replied hastily, making Clarke chuckle.

She didn’t know why, but she suddenly felt the need to jump to Clarke’s defense, even though she was well aware that Raven was just trying to be funny.

“Ray, why don’t go be useful and make the order?” Octavia grinned, splashing some water in her friend’s direction.

“Me?” she laughed. “You do it!” she fought back, filling her palm with water repeatedly and aiming at Octavia.

“Ray, stop!” Clarke shrieked when the water hit her face instead.

Raven didn’t stop; instead, she continued the water fight, receiving the same response from Octavia, and Clarke quickly turned around, moving instinctively away from them, and suddenly finding herself dangerously close to Lexa.

So close, that she could feel their legs touching under the water as she held onto the edge of the pool, facing Lexa.

She looked up and met Lexa’s eyes that seemed even greener, probably due to the light breaking on the surface of the water around them.

And then they turned darker.

Clarke saw Lexa’s pupils dilate to a point that the green was nearly completely eclipsed.

Instinctively, she lowered her look to her big, plump lips.

_“God, she’s stunning…”_ Clarke thought, taking in her unique beauty, and almost forgetting there was a full-on water fight going on around them.

“Sorry…” she managed to say when their eyes met again, receiving a soft smile from the brunette.

“It’s fine… You’re sort of… shielding me from it, actually…” Lexa said, widening her smile.

Clarke smiled back and was about to reply when Raven announced that the “fight” was officially over, so she quickly moved away from Lexa, deciding to get out of the pool as well.

Once out, she grabbed a towel from one of the deck chairs, and hurried inside, almost as if she were trying to escape from whatever it was that she had felt inside the pool, just moments earlier.

“Hey, princess…” she was stopped by Finn just as she stepped inside the living room, feeling his grip around her upper arm. “Where’s the fire?”

“Oh… hey, Finn…” she smiled awkwardly at him. “I’ll be right back; I’ll just go up to my room and change…”

“Can I come?” he asked, flashing his white teeth.

Clarke frowned, unsure if she had heard wrong or Finn was actually insinuating that he wanted to… see her naked?

“That came out wrong…” Finn hurried, seeing the confusion on Clarke’s face. “I meant, I just wanted to see your room… if that’s okay?”

“Oh…” Clarke relaxed. “Um, yeah… sure… I’ll change in the bathroom…”

He followed her up the stairs, and once they were inside Clarke’s room, she instructed him to make himself comfortable while she took a quick shower before putting on some dry clothes. When she walked out of the bathroom, she found him sitting on the edge of her bed, looking at his phone.

Finn looked up and scanned her body; she was wearing a beige, puff-sleeve mid-thigh wrap dress, and his eyes stopped at her prominent chest, enjoying the way the V-neckline of the dress made it possible for him to appreciate her cleavage.

“You’re so hot…” he said, finally meeting her eyes.

Clarke smiled, shaking her head, and started walking toward the door.

“Let’s go back to the party…” she suggested, but was surprised by Finn, who grabbed her by the waist, just as she was passing him by. “Finn!” she screamed as he pulled her into his lap.

“I haven’t seen you at all this week, gorgeous…” he said, making sad puppy eyes and pouting his lips. “I miss your kisses…”

“I was busy… you know that…” Clarke said as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

“I know… but you’re not busy now, are you?” he said, raising his eyebrow and giving her a charming smile.

Clarke shook her head and smiled at him before she leaned into a kiss.

The truth was, she liked kissing Finn.

Raven was right; he was a good kisser.

So good, that she had even felt a slight tingling in her lower abdomen in more than one occasion since they had started dating.

This time, though, Finn seemed a bit impatient as he pushed his tongue inside Clarke’s mouth at the same time he tightened the grip around her waist. Soon, one of his hands started moving up her side, reaching the wire of her bra, and before she knew it, he was cupping her breast over the fabric of her dress.

He squeezed it, and Clarke knew that she was not at all ready for his advances, especially not in that moment, with all her friends in the back yard of her house, waiting for her to come back.

“Finn…” she said as she pulled away from the kiss, and grabbed his hand, lowering it to her waist.

“Mmm…” Finn groaned, placing his lips on her neck, moving slowly towards her ear. “You turn me on so much…” he said as he grabbed one of her hands and placed it on his crotch. “See?”

Clarke’s eyes widened when she felt the bulge through the fabric of his shorts.

“I’m so hard for you, Clarke…” he whispered, moving her hand up and down, encouraging her to rub his stiffness.

On one hand, Clarke felt curious; she had never touched anyone that way before, and she was discovering that she was not repulsed by at, as she thought she would be after learning about erection in sex education class in 4th grade. On the other hand, though, she did not feel ready to take that step just yet; after all, she and Finn had only been seeing each other for a month, and she did not feel close enough to him to engage in anything other than kissing.

“Finn…” she said quietly as she pulled away her hand, and moved her head, interrupting the contact between Finn’s lips and her neck.

He released a groan in protest before he opened his eyes and looked at her.

Clarke immediately realized that his pupils were completely dilated; just as Lexa’s were where she was standing next to her inside the pool.

Did that mean…?

Wait… what did that mean?

“Damn, babe… you’re killing me…” Finn said, interrupting her thoughts.

“Let’s go downstairs…” she smiled at him and left a soft kiss on his lips before she got off his lap and took a few steps toward the door. “Coming?” she asked as she looked at him over her shoulder.

“I wish…” Finn chuckled as he stood up, pointing at his obvious erection that was stretching the fabric of his shorts. “I think I’ll wait a little bit…” he added, smiling at her.

“Oh…” Clarke couldn’t help but blush, trying not to stare at it. “Um… I’ll… Take your time… I’ll see you downstairs…” she managed to smile before she walked out of the room.


	9. The Altercation

Lexa started breathing normally once Clarke came out of the pool and saw her rush into the house, followed by Finn. She sank into the water, trying to put an end to her nervousness or whatever it was that had just happened.

Back on the surface, she focused on the conversation between Raven and Octavia, who seemed to disagree on who would make the call and what toppings they should order for their pizzas, which they were so determined to share.

They consulted with the others.

Niylah said she would not be staying for dinner, as well as Maya and Jasper, who had planned to celebrate their six-month anniversary in private, while Nathan had already made plans to play an online game that he was totally addicted to.

As Raven made a mental note of who was staying or not, Octavia was distracted by Lincoln and his muscular body, sitting right in front of her on one of the loungers.

He was chatting with Bellamy, but it was obvious that Lincoln was more attentive of Luna than of his best friend, who tapped him lightly on his shoulder, trying to bring him back to Earth.

Lincoln smiled, curving his lips gently in that special way that revolutionized every fiber of Octavia’s body.

She found herself distracted by the dark tone of his skin and the way it stretched across his chest, down his abdomen, marking an anatomy in which the brunette wouldn't mind losing herself for hours, days, centuries, unaware that whoever would look at her would find her drooling at the thought of being able to actually do so someday.

However, that day would not come so soon.

Luna and Lincoln were dating, although they were rarely seen in an overly affectionate attitude together, which Octavia felt grateful for, since it was difficult for her to even imagine them together.

They were very different and perhaps for that reason they were attracted to each other; while Luna loved to enjoy her freedom with her friends, Lincoln seemed to prefer a closer, more traditional relationship, the kind that meant spending a lot of time together, hand in hand.

Octavia made a face, thinking about how lucky Luna was; something she seemed not to be fully aware of, laughing and totally ignoring the way her boyfriend was undressing her with his gaze, which made Octavia clench her jaw and look away.

If only he looked at her that way ...

It was around eight o'clock when Madi entered the pool with Luca and they approached Lexa directly. Clarke's little sister was intrigued by this brunette with whom she seemed to share the same love for skateboarding, and they chatted for a while, discovering quite a few more things they had in common.

When Clarke returned to the party, her eyes instinctively searched for Lexa, finding her in the water, talking to her little sister.

Lexa's body language caught her attention, appreciating the dynamic between them and the way the brunette seemed to be feeling very comfortable just as they were being joined by Gaia, who had a big smile on her lips.

Clarke loved the idea of Lexa and Madi getting along, unlike the idea of Gaia hovering so close, which always managed to make her feel slightly uncomfortable.

She was distracted by Roan's voice, right behind her, speaking to Murphy and Bellamy as they approached the table, to pour themselves drinks.

“The new girl... what’s her name?” he asked, narrowing his gaze.

“Lexa ... what about her?” Murphy answered.

“Umph ... She’s hot as fuck ...” he said, with a somewhat obscene expression on his face.

Clarke winced. Every muscle in her body twitched, not only because it confirmed the way in which others perceived the brunette, but because everything about Roan always made her nervous; his character, his humor, his attitude; a combination that always got him in trouble.

Finn joined them at that precise moment, giving the blonde a look, mixed between frustration and a hint of residual lust.

She looked down at her boyfriend's swimsuit, noticing how the pressure between her legs finally seemed to have loosened.

“Who?” he asked, approaching Clarke.

He rested his hand on her waist and dug his fingertips into her flesh, perhaps with a little more enthusiasm than usual.

“Lexa ...”

“Ufff that’s gonna be hard, dude...” Finn answered confidently, looking at the brunette. “I think she has a boyfriend ... but, anyway, if you want to make a move, you should hurry before the dyke over there beats you to it ...” Finn laughed.

Roan looked at Gaia chatting with Lexa.

“The only thing that’s hard is this beast right here…” he said, reaching for his groin.

Clarke couldn’t help but follow Roan's hand with her gaze, a hodgepodge of feelings bubbling inside her.

The idea of Gaia trying to seduce Lexa echoed in her head, but what really bothered the blonde was Finn’s dismissive tone when he referred to Gaia as “the dyke”, as well as Roan's obscene comment, the image of his “beast” appearing in her mind.

It suddenly made her jump on the defensive.

“Believe me, Lexa will never ...” she snapped, emphasizing the adverb of frequency, “... be into you.”

Roan laughed out loud.

“Wait until she sees the size of my weapon of mass destruction ...” he said. “You'll see how she’ll beg me to let her wrap her pretty lips around it...”

Finn, on any other occasion, would have laughed following Roan's dynamics, trying to keep up instead of being the “loser” on duty, but he held back out of courtesy to Clarke.

Murphy squared his shoulders and crossed his arms, watching as the vein on the blonde's forehead was about to explode; he knew his friend well enough to know that she would not let such a comment simply slide, unanswered.

As he observed Clarke, he couldn’t help but notice a slightly different energy in her.

Could it be the alcohol?

He knew she had had at least three glasses of that rum Lexa had brought, in a rather disproportionate rum-cola ratio, which meant that Clarke could end up saying much more than she would naturally; just as Roan, only that he didn't need to drink to say all kinds of hurtful things.

“God! How can you be such a pig?” the blonde protested.

“Ha!” exclaimed Roan.

“No, you know what? Just save it… what a jerk ...” Clarke snorted, feeling the anger take over her.

She clenched her jaw and her fists at the helplessness of not being able to give the big guy a good slap on the face; instead, she pushed Finn on her way out of there.

She strayed from her path when she noticed that Lexa was about to get out of the pool and, without much hesitation, grabbed a towel, with which she stood on the other side of the ladder.

* * *

Lexa looked up, finding the blonde unexpectedly, with a towel spread out for her. Her lips almost stretched into a smile, but stopped halfway when she noticed her energy, like a great cloud that obscured her blue gaze, and clenched her jaw, almost disfiguring it; a very different expression from the gentle one she had shown moments earlier in the pool.

“Put it on ...” Clarke asked rudely, tilting her head, avoiding looking the brunette directly in the eye when she came out of the water.

“Uh ... thanks ...” Lexa hesitated, taking the towel and wrapping herself in it. “Something wrong?” she asked, searching her eyes.

Clarke reacted to Lexa's soothing gaze by shaking her head.

Why had she reacted this way?

Roan was quite annoyed with the blonde; first, for interrupting their “guy talk” and second, for calling him a pig to his face.

Who did she think she was?

“What’s her problem?” he protested, glancing at Finn, who also seemed a bit upset. “She looks like she could use some D, man ... Aren't you giving it to her?”

“Pfff ... Who do you take me for?” Finn replied defensively, feigning a smile as wide as his shoulders.

“Good ... because she’s got some mouth on her ... and she should be using it for other things,” Roan said, making a gesture with his hand, as if something long and hard were pushing against his cheek from the inside of his mouth.

Finn laughed, even though it was his girlfriend he was talking about. Bellamy, however, looked at them with unchanging seriousness.

“Don’t you think you’ve said enough already?” His rigid tone caught Roan’s attention, who looked at him, tilting his head and raising his eyebrows, seeming a bit surprised.

“What's up, Bell? You’d like a piece of the busty blondie too?” he asked, winking at Finn, who stopped smiling immediately.

“Son of a bitch ...” Bellamy said, clenching his fists.

Roan kept his eyes on him.

“Uuu ... looks like I hit a nerve there…” He laughed. “Sorry, man ... Guess you won't be able to get it wet since my boy Finn beat you to it ... Unless he’d be willing to share, huh?” he added, winking at Finn.

“Hey ...” Finn tried to mediate between them; on one hand, he didn’t appreciate Roan talking about Clarke as if she were an object and on the other hand, he feared that the conversation would escalate into a fight.

“What did you say?!” Bell snorted, grinding his teeth.

“Come on, Bell ... The idea of you and Finn giving blondie a nice DP doesn’t turn you on? I know I’d definitely spank the monkey watching her on all fours, taking it all in…”

Bellamy felt an impulse and unable to control himself, he advanced with his clenched fist straight up to Roan's face.

Roan did not expect it, so he was not in time to dodge the blow. He rubbed his face before going into a rage and hitting Bellamy with all his might, causing him to stagger.

It took him a single second to straighten up and respond with another blow to Roan’s stomach, causing the two to end up like octopuses, locked in a real fight.

Octavia saw the moment her brother hit Roan first and let out a yell, getting everyone to look in that direction, including Lincoln, who jumped up and ran to his friend's aid.

Lexa stepped out of that momentary bubble she was in, wondering about the change in the Clarke's attitude, and looked over her shoulder.

Clarke turned her head, following Lexa's gaze, also alerted by Octavia's scream, finding a scene that ended up putting her in a worse mood.

Everything stopped; the good weather, the chill vibes, the music; all of that was now being replaced by insults and shouting.

Murphy and Lincoln tried to separate them, but they were too caught up in the fight in which Bellamy seemed to be winning, needing a few more hands to prevent them both from doing too much damage; including the hands of Octavia, who did not hesitate to intercede by pulling her brother.

“Bell ... please ... stop!” She asked, almost pleading.

Bellamy stopped when he noticed Octavia tugging at his arm, but only because he feared she might receive a blow during the struggle. Octavia was his little sister, his great treasure, and the only one he would do anything for, including having to swallow his pride.

“Fucking faggot!” Roan yelled, rubbing his chin.

“Asshole ... I’m gonna beat the shit out of you ...”

“Stop! What the hell!?” Clarke intervened, stepping between them.

She looked from one to the other, feeling just as angry at both of them.

“Looks like the party’s over...” Roan said, turning around.

“For you, it most definitely is…” Clarke snapped, indicating the exit with her hand.

Roan clenched his jaw and walked out, grabbing his towel, followed by Finn, who looked at the blonde, apologetically.

“Sorry, babe ... see you tomorrow?”

Clarke just nodded and then looked at Bellamy, in a questioning tone.

“What was that, Bell?”

The dark-haired boy cocked his head.

“Nothing ... I'd better go home.”

Octavia walked her brother out onto the street, making sure he wasn't running after Roan. She tried to figure out the reason why they had fought, but Bellamy was still too angry to talk about it.

She felt worried about her brother and was thinking about going home with him, until Lincoln caught up with them outside the house and assured her that he would stay with him for the rest of the evening.

The others also started leaving the party soon, one by one, saying goodbye to Clarke, except for those who said they would stick around for the pizzas; among them, Gaia, Luna, and also Monty; who again put on some music, trying to lighten up the mood, as well as Murphy, Raven, Octavia, Lexa, and Kyle.

Madi and Luca watched everything from a safe distance.

“Hey ... Clarke ...” Raven approached her, feeling responsible for what happened.

“Not now, Ray ...” Clarke replied, sounding annoyed.

Clarke was not completely surprised that the party ended that way, since it was not the first time they had experienced that kind of a situation with Roan, although she was surprised that it was Bellamy who was on the other end of the fight. He always used to be quite respectful and hardly ever got in trouble.

Then her mind wandered off towards Lexa, wondering if _she_ might had been the reason for the dispute between them.

Maybe Bellamy liked her?

Clarke then noticed that Lexa had put on her clothes and could tell from her expression that she was about to leave. Partly she could understand her, mostly because she knew Lexa did not like parties, much less one that ended with an exchange of fists.

But Clarke had not expected her to leave so soon.

“Uh ... I think I'll go too ...” she said, confirming her thought.

“No! Where are you going?” Raven exclaimed, getting ahead of the blonde.

Lexa made a face, rubbing her head.

“Don't feel bad about what happened ...” continued the Latina. “That was just Roan being Roan... right?” she added, looking at the blonde.

“Definitely ... Roan loves to provoke ...” Luna confirmed.

Clarke sighed.

“That's why you shouldn't have invited him ...” Murphy said.

“Okay, okay ... got it ... I take the blame ...” Raven said, raising her arms in the air. “But Roan is gone now, so ... let’s have some fun!”

* * *

The party continued, after all, it was Saturday night and they wanted to make the most of it. Raven finally ordered the pizzas after losing “rock, paper, scissors” to Octavia.

An hour later, the delivery man knocked on the back door just as Raven had instructed him to do, since the music would most likely have prevented them from hearing him ring the front door’s bell.

“Mmm! Who’s hungry?” Monty asked, spotting the boy in the red cap waiting at the entrance, a tower of pizzas in his hands.

They spread out all the food on various tables and ate while chatting, momentarily forgetting about the awkward event. They continued drinking as well, and Raven told her typical bad jokes which almost got her thrown into the pool.

Lexa was lost in her thoughts, as was Clarke; the blonde, on her part, was wondering if saying all those things to Roan had contributed to the fight, while Lexa kept trying to figure out what had led Clarke to the sudden change in attitude.

After dinner, they proposed various games. Most chose “guess the movie”, a game that consisted of doing charades in teams, and the victory would go to the team that guessed the most performances.

The dynamic consisted in that two of the members of a team had to represent a film, that the opposing team proposed, so that their team would guess, and the difficulty eradicated in that each team would choose increasingly difficult films to represent, not to mention of the additional difficulties since almost all of them were under the influence of alcohol.

They added the incentive that every time a team lost, all members had to do a shot of rum, which made it even more fun.

Two teams; Raven, Kyle, Octavia, Monty and Clarke, against Luna, Gaia, Murphy, Lexa and Madi and Luca.

Lexa agreed to play, but nearly died of embarrassment when it was her turn to act out Twilight, a movie she had not even seen, so she just followed Muprhy’s lead, who had given her a quick summary before they started acting it out.

However, she could see the blonde smile for the first time since the fight, which brought a smile to her lips as well. Clarke’s eyes were glued to her, paying attention to her every move; there was simply something about Lexa that enchanted her, making her feel a bit embarrassed, but at the same time quite comfortable around her.

Lexa's team won big time.

Everyone had underestimated Luca; the boy turned out to be a movie freak and his cinematographic knowledge was off the charts.

After the game was over, Raven got lost with Kyle for a while; the rest continued with drinks and games, until around 11:30 pm when Gaia and Luna left, followed by the others, complying with the curfew imposed by their parents. Everyone except Raven and Octavia, who had been given permission to stay over at Clarke's, while Madi went to bed as soon as Luca's mother came to pick him up.

Lexa did not have a curfew, but as the party seemed to be coming to an end, she decided it was time to go.

Just when she wanted to communicate it, the Latina appeared with a smile from ear to ear, after walking out Kyle to the door.

“I've decided ...” she said, feeling a bit tipsy. “I’m going to lose my V-Card to Kyle!”

“What? When?” Octavia asked, her eyes widening.

Clarke winced at the Latina's statement, and instinctively looked at Lexa.

“At the Homecoming dance...”

“Are you sure?” Clarke asked, remembering the moment with Finn in her room.

“One hundred percent! Have you seen the guy? He’s smokin’ hot!” Raven exclaimed.

“I’m not saying he’s not hot, but I don't know if that's enough to ... you know ... do it with someone for the first time ...” Clarke hesitated.

“No, you’re right ... of course ... but I really like him ... and judging by the hardness of a certain part of his anatomy a few minutes ago, I’m pretty sure he likes me too...

“Ew Raven ... we don't need the details, really ...” Clarke protested, making a face, similar to Lexa's.

“Does he know about your plan? Have you talked about it or ...?” Octavia asked.

“Not yet ... but I think he won’t object to the idea ...”

“He’ll be thrilled, Ray ... He’s a boy, after all ..." Octavia laughed.

That was the key moment for Lexa to get up to leave.

“It's late ... I should go.”

“Why don’t you stay a bit longer?” Octavia suggested.

“Yeah ... stay ...” Raven agreed. “I'll stop talking about cocks, I promise ...” she joked. “Better yet ... how about we talk about lesbian sex? Have you done it with your girlfriend?”

Clarke's eyes widened, as did Lexa’s, surprised by the question.

“Jesus, Ray!” Octavia protested. “Do you think she’ll stay with us if you bombard her with questions like that?”

“Dude, I'm just curious ... What if I don't like it with Kyle? I need to keep my options open…”

“Just ignore her… You don't have to answer ...” Clarke said to Lexa, understanding that the brunette's shyness would make her not want to talk about it. “But I would like it if you stayed ...”

Clarke was also curious, although the truth was that she did not feel ready to listen to Lexa talk about her sexual experiences.

“You're a party pooper, blondie ...” Raven huffed, crossing her arms.

“I guess I can stay a little longer ... I live next door, after all...”

“Exactly! Which is why I’m sure your parents won't mind if you sleep here ...” Octavia continued.

Lexa looked at Clarke for a second.

“Octavia is right ... stay ...” said the blonde, noticing a tingle running down her back.

Why did the idea of Lexa staying over excite her?

Lexa weighed.

Why was it so difficult for her to refuse anything Clarke asked of her?


	10. The Sleepover - Pt.1

“Uh ... okay ... I'll stay ...” Lexa answered at the end, unable to resist the silent request in Clarke's blue eyes, despite how personal she sensed that the conversation could get between them.

She tended to be quite shy when it came to those topics, which made her nervous, especially with that gorgeous blonde in front of her, and when they had barely known each other for a week.

“Three against one ... it never fails!” Raven cheered, a triumphant look on her face.

“Cool, but why don't we continue inside?” Octavia suggested, rubbing her arms. “I'm a bit cold ...”

Almost as if she were asking for permission, she looked at Clarke who had been distracted, analyzing that emotion that rose within her, with her absent gaze somewhere between them.

The blonde reacted hastily, standing up.

“Yes, you're right ... Me too…” she said, trying to justify the chill that ran down her spine. “But maybe we should clean up first,” she added, looking at the mess made of empty glasses, bottles and leftover food scraps around the pool.

“Naaah, we’ll do it in the morning… I'm too drunk...” Raven disagreed with a grimace, grabbing one of the bottles of alcohol from the table.

“No shit…” Octavia laughed. “But yes, I don't feel like it right now ...”

“Okay ... but if for some reason my parents come back early ... I swear to God...” Clarke said, not quite convinced that this was a good idea.

“No way, dude… This trip is like a second honeymoon for them!” she laughed. “Think about it ... the two of them, in a hotel ... sex without interruptions ...” Raven began to relate.

“No! Stop! I don't want to imagine it!” Clarke protested, stopping the Latina and advancing towards the interior of the house.

Raven cackled as she followed Clarke.

“Oh! Come on, Clarke ... You should be happy for them! Keeping the spark in their marriage after all these years ...” Raven continued.

They sat on the couch, Raven and Octavia in the three-seater and Clarke and Lexa in the individual chairs across from the two friends.

Lexa was already regretting having agreed to stay the night, but still, she made herself comfortable, trying to hide her nervousness.

They arranged a new round of drinks on the coffee table as Raven continued speaking.

“Don't you think?”

“We all know that our parents have sex, Raven… but that doesn’t mean we should talk about it…” Octavia scolded her, agreeing with Clarke. “Why don’t you tell us about your experience with Kyle instead?”

“I think Clarke might have some update for us ...” Raven replied, raising an eyebrow. “Any new developments with Finn?”

Clarke, just like Lexa, winced at the unexpected turn of the conversation or, perhaps, not so unexpected, considering that the girls were in their element with all that alcohol fluctuating through their veins and the topic “sex and guys” constantly invading your thoughts.

“What do you mean?” The blonde asked, trying to appear normal, looking at Lexa from the corner of her eye.

“Come on Clarkie ... we all saw Finn follow you inside ... did you go to your room?”

Clarke felt quite embarrassed when she noticed Lexa's intense emerald gaze on her. Was she interested in knowing too?

For a moment she thought about evading the question, but on the other hand, perhaps it was too late for that, feeling her cheeks hot and they turned red, giving her away.

“Yes ... He wanted to see my room and well ... We made out...”

“That’s all?” Raven pried, leaning over the table. She raised an eyebrow and looked at her defiantly. “I don’t buy it.”

“Well ... he got ... you know ... he had an erection ...” Clarke confessed, looking at Lexa and noticing a certain look of revulsion on her face when she heard the word “erection”.

“And ... did you touch it?” Octavia asked, widening her eyes.

“No! I didn't feel ready to do anything about it ...” the blonde replied hastily, waving her hands as the color of her face changed from pink to fiery red, lighting up like a Christmas tree.

“Why not? You could have taken advantage of the fact that your parents are not at home to… you know!” Raven said, making a rather representative gesture with her fingers. “Right, Lexa? I'm sure you're the one who has the most experience in this department…” she added, trying to include Lexa in the conversation, noting that she hadn't said a single word yet.

“Um ... well ... I think it's a very personal decision and ... you have to be very sure before you take that step...” Lexa replied, giving her support to Clarke.

The reality was that she could understand her well, since she herself had felt the same way about Costia for a long time.

How long had it taken her to be sure about it? Five... Six months? It was that same summer that Lexa had made up her mind, deciding she was ready, while Costia and her family were vacationing in Italy.

How long had Clarke been seeing Finn?

The truth was, she would have been surprised if Clarke said she felt ready do to it with him.

The blonde looked at Lexa, grateful that she understood her point of view.

“I think so too, it should be with the right person… when she’s ready,” Octavia supported.

Clarke winced, looking at Raven triumphantly.

“Ugh! It’s not that big of a deal ... Also, it's good to try some stuff first ... Kyle has a boner every time we kiss, and I like to touch it because it makes me feel powerful ... giving him a handjob makes me feel like I'm in control, because I know that if I stop doing it, he won't come ...”

“Raven! Tell me you didn’t do that in my house earlier when you disappeared!” Clarke snapped, making a disgusted face.

Raven raised an eyebrow as a smirk curled her lips.

“That’s for me to know and for you to wonder, Clarkie!” Raven answered, playfully moving her eyebrows.

Octavia sighed, leaning back on the couch.

“What’s that sigh about?” Raven changed the subject, narrowing her eyes.

“It’s just that I'd love to be able to do any of those things with Linc ... he's so hot...” Octavia replied, feeling a bit tipsy. “And his body ... God! His pecs and his abs ...”

“Wow ... Octavia is horny!” Raven laughed.

“Look who’s talking!” she laughed. “But seriously, though… I’d do it with him in a heartbeat,” she added, covering her face with her forearm, and hiding how heated she felt just thinking about the possibility of losing her virginity with Lincoln.

“I can show you some tricks you could use if that happens...” Raven said as she straddled Octavia, taking advantage of the fact that she wasn't looking at her. “You just have to move like this, and you’ll make him come in his pants ...”

She leaned against the back of the sofa with her arms outstretched, trapping Octavia between her and the sofa.

“For God's sake ... Ray!” Octavia laughed when she saw that her friend began to move her hips, back and forth on top of her, pelvis to pelvis.

Lexa’s body tensed at the image, at the same time that her eyes widened, meeting Clarke’s, who looked at her unconsciously, perhaps feeling too embarrassed to keep looking at her friends.

But, when she found Lexa’s green gaze, Clarke felt even more embarrassed when the image of the brunette doing that kind of things with her girlfriend crossed her mind.

“Oh! Yes ... harder ... Linc ...” Raven joked, between moans and moans, making Octavia pout.

“Get off!” Octavia pushed her, laughing. “You’re crazy!” she snorted, feigning annoyance.

The Latina got up and dropped to one side on the sofa, unable to stop laughing.

“The one who's going to go crazy is Kyle,” she said, trying to calm her breathing.

Octavia playfully threw a cushion at her face.

“Poor guy...”

“Lexa, did you tell your mother that you’re staying?” Clarke suddenly asked, diverting her attention.

“Uh… no. I'll send her a text,” she answered, doubting if she should go through with the sleepover as she retrieved the phone from her pocket.

She felt a bit awkward; her hands were shaking, and she felt her heart race dangerously, remembering a few things, including the first day she had seen Clarke from her window and what happened next. She hadn't thought of it until now.

“Ugh ... It’s dead ...” she said, realizing that she had not checked her phone ever since she replied to the good night message that Costia had sent her around 9 pm, after returning from her night out.

Even though that was 4 am in Madrid, Lexa was not surprised, considering that Costia’s parents were quite permissive and she didn’t really have a curfew.

“Luckily, you don't live very far ...” Raven commented, taking a sip of her drink.

“Don't you think you're mixing too much?” Octavia asked, taking it away from her.

“What’s up, O? Are you afraid I’ll dry-hump you again?” The Latina continued in the same mischievous tune.

Clarke rolled her eyes and jumped up from the couch.

“Come on, I'll come with you ...” she said to Lexa; however, Lexa looked at her as if she was not able to understand her well, breaking out of her own thoughts. “To let your parents know about you staying over tonight...” She explained.

“Uh ... okay ... yes ... I need to take the charger, a change of clothes and my PJs,” Lexa said as she got up quickly and followed Clarke out.

“Don't take too long, girls!” Octavia begged, rolling her eyes at Clarke and glancing at Raven from the side.

As they walked away, they heard Raven laugh and Octavia protest her audacity accordingly.

Clarke sighed.

“Sorry about that ...” she said, opening the gate, feeling a bit relieved to escape and feel the air, regulating her body temperature.

It was like a breath of fresh, invigorating air; It was cooler outside, but not enough to counteract her dizziness. She hadn't noticed it before, but as they walked through the front yard, she could feel her body sway slightly sideways.

“Nah ... all good, don't worry about it ...” Lexa replied.

However, she had been silent most of the time, which made Clarke doubt if she should believe her.

They stepped out to the sidewalk and walked to Lexa's house, where they observed the downstairs lights still on.

“Earlier, though ... the fight… you must’ve been horrified ...” Clarke continued.

Lexa smiled and turned to keep walking backward and look at Clarke.

“Not really ...” She replied, noticing how the blonde slowed down, just before accessing the front steps.

Clarke cocked her head and looked at the ground; they did not know each other very well, but well enough to know that, from her expression, there was something that worried her.

“Something wrong?” Lexa asked, putting the key in the lock.

“Uh ... no ... nothing ...” Clarke whispered.

“If you prefer, you can wait here…” Lexa offered, thinking that what was worrying her was the idea of seeing her parents and the possibility of an interrogation. “I won't be long ...”

“No, it’s not that...”

“No?” Lexa asked, backing away from the door.

“I ... I was wondering ... if you ... I mean ... how and when did you know that you were ready ... you know ...” she made a face, “... to advance in your relationship with Costia?”

She took refuge in the darkness of the entrance to arm herself with enough courage and ask her question; one that colored her cheeks as she formulated it.

Until now, Clarke hadn't been concerned about why she didn't dare to take that step with Finn. Considering that they had only been dating for a short time, she wanted to take her time, see if he was the one, but after the conversation with Raven and Octavia, she began to doubt that it was the only reason.

She liked Finn and she liked kissing him; The reaction he had had between his legs hadn't bothered her, nor she had disliked it, and some of her own reactions had surprised her as well, for the better; but, nevertheless, there was something that was holding her back.

Maybe she wasn't in love?

Lexa opened her mouth, as her eyes widened. She felt a bit nervous as she was working on her best answer in her mind, but when she was about to speak, the light in the hall came on, revealing the blush on Clarke's cheeks and her own cheeks as well.

They both jumped, as if they had been caught in the middle of something they shouldn’t be doing.

“Mom,” Lexa said, looking back, almost in a tone of protest.

“I heard the key ...” Becca explained.

“Oh… right...”

“Hello, Clarke ...” she added, noticing the blonde.

“Hello, Mrs. Woods,” Clarke smiled.

“Is the party over?”

“Yeah, well ... not quite. Some friends of Clarke's are staying over, so ... I came to get my pajamas.”

“A pajama party, huh?” Becca asked with a big smile on her lips.

“Yes ...” Lexa replied, asking permission with her eyes.

Becca nodded and stepped aside for the girls to enter the house.

“Come in.”

Lexa gestured to Clarke, who hesitated a second, feeling a bit unsure, but took several steps, following the brunette inside.

Augustus was in the living room watching television, but when he heard them, he sat up from the sofa and waved warmly at them.

“Hello ...” Clarke greeted cautiously.

Would they notice that she was drunk? She hadn't even taken the precaution of brushing her teeth first, before leaving the house.

“So, how was the party?” Becca asked, looking directly at Clarke.

Lexa's mother gently guided her into the living room, while the brunette started to climb the stairs.

“I won't be long ...” Lexa said, knowing that her mother would not miss an opportunity to pry.

Clarke looked at her, in a way that Lexa found most adorable, almost as if she were begging her not to leave her alone; but the brunette only smiled, convinced that her mother would not say, or do anything, to make her friend uncomfortable.

She stopped for a few seconds at the top of the stairs as the muscles of her face involuntarily curved into a wide smile; Contrary to what she had expected, she felt she had found someone to help her cope with the new move. Lexa had no doubt that it was thanks to Clarke that she didn't feel out of place.

“Uh ... it was good ...” Clarke replied, trying to sound as normal as possible, without taking her eyes completely off the stairway where Lexa had disappeared.

“When are your parents coming back? You know that if you and your sister need anything, we are just one step away ...”

“Thank you ...” said the blonde, giving her a shy smile. “They'll be back tomorrow afternoon ...”

“No ... thank _you_ , Clarke ...” Becca continued, surprising the blonde. “For making Lexa feel so welcome and accepted ... We were a bit worried about this latest move ... She didn't want to leave Spain ... but I'm glad to see that you two get along so well.”

“Oh, I ... It's a pleasure ... Lexa is ... great,” she replied, feeling a new wave of heat from her chest to her cheeks.

“Well, she must think the same of you ... I don't remember the last time she went to a sleepover ...”

“I'm here...”

Clarke was grateful to hear Lexa's voice and looked up just as the brunette was coming down the stairs with a backpack over her shoulder.

“Uh ... thanks ...” The blonde hurried, assimilating Becca’s words.

“Shall we?” asked Lexa, standing in front of the blonde.

“Yeah ... uh, good night, Mr. and Mrs. Woods ...” Clarke said, turning around.

* * *

Clarke and Lexa went out the door; the brunette with the backpack on her shoulders, in which she had kept her phone charger, pajamas and a change of clothes for the following day, and Clarke, saying goodbye to the Woods with a big smile on her lips. Lexa had changed her clothes, substituting the bikini for dry underwear, the shorts for long black skinny jeans and a gray T-shirt.

Was it her impression or did her mother really like Clarke?

Her attitude had caught her attention; In fact, the first time she noticed it was when her mother told her about the Griffins’ oldest daughter, convinced that they would like each other.

She had not given it importance, convinced at the time that her mother was only wishing for her to adapt and integrate, but she could not help but compare her attitude now with the one she had had with Costia the times they had met; although she had never said anything and she had treated her correctly, Lexa knew Becca was not too fond of her.

For the moment, however, she decided not to make a big deal out of it and left the house, followed by Clarke.

“Have a good time!” Becca waved at them, saying goodbye as she leaned on the door frame.

The girls responded simultaneously with a “we will” that sounded a bit rehearsed, and they looked at each other, surprised for a few seconds by their complicity, and immediately afterwards, they laughed and ran, crossing the short distance that separated their houses.

Becca smiled when she saw them, feeling pleased and genuinely happy for her daughter.

It was a short but intense race in which Lexa showed her good form, taking a lead several steps away.

“Hey ...” Clarke called her, stopping just as she stepped onto the grass by the entrance and took a breath through her mouth.

“What?” Lexa asked, turning around.

Clarke came up to the gate, through which they entered, making sure it was locked securely.

“Your mother is pretty awesome ...”

“She’s alright I guess ...” Lexa replied, shrugging her shoulders.

“I wish mine was more like yours,” Clarke sighed, rolling her eyes.

As they approached the pool, they noticed it was unusually quiet.

Clarke grimaced and looked at Lexa, puzzled.

“That’s weird!” The blonde said, entering the living room.

Lexa followed her closely and they found Octavia and Raven, defeated and sharing the sofa where they had left them earlier.

“They dozed off pretty quickly” Lexa appreciated, with a smile; Raven was on one side of the couch and Octavia to the opposite side and did not seem to mind Raven's feet pretty much in the face.

“I’m not too surprised ...” Clarke whispered, careful not to wake them up. “I'll get them a blanket…”

“You’ll leave them here?”

“Sure… we would’ve had to split either way, my bed isn’t big enough for the four of us ...” she said, shrugging.

“So... that means…?”

“It means that you and I will sleep in my room," Clarke replied, without further ado. “I’ll be right back ...”

“Uh ... okay.”

Clarke left Lexa in the living room while she went to the downstairs closet, where her mother kept some neatly folded sheets and blankets that they hardly used. She picked up one, careful not to mess up the rest, and closed the door.

_“Wait a minute…”_ she thought, stopping her actions for a moment.

Did she say they would sleep together?

She had said it, yes, but as she processed her own words, a knot began to form in her stomach, feeling nervous at the idea of sharing a bed with Lexa.

But why was it that she felt so nervous?

It shouldn't be much different than sleeping with Raven or Octavia, which she had done so many times before, without feeling strange at all.

Yet thinking that it was Lexa she would share this moment with made her heart race and her hands sweat.

Maybe because she knew that the brunette liked girls?

She shook her head.

Looking at it that way, the situation might feel different, but she and Lexa were friends; besides that, Lexa had a girlfriend with whom she was very much in love, so it was very likely that she did not have eyes for anyone other than Costia and only looked at her as she herself looked at any of her friends.

Right?


	11. The Sleepover - Pt.2

Clarke returned to the living room, with that idea fixed in her mind and with a blanket in her hands.

She could see Lexa, outside near the pool, walking around and picking up some of the glasses. She quickly threw the blanket on top of Octavia and Raven and went out to join her.

“What are you doing?” Clarke asked, peeking from the sliding glass door.

“Just ... cleaning up a bit,” Lexa replied, raising an eyebrow playfully.

“Yeah, I see that ...” she smiled. “But we said we'd do it in the morning, all together,” Clarke reminded her.

“I know… but I have nothing to do and since I'm not drunk, I can do it now ...” Lexa replied, continuing with her chore.

Maybe it sounded like a good reason, but far from it, it was just an excuse.

The reason why she had gone out to the pool had been because the news that she and Clarke would sleep together had taken her by surprise, raising her body temperature by at least a couple of degrees.

She felt confused, and perhaps a bit guilty, thinking about Costia and what she would think about it. Yet the idea of sharing this intimate moment with Clarke attracted her as much as she was reluctant to admit that her blue eyes did as well.

“It would be a miracle if you were, considering you didn’t have a drop of alcohol tonight…” Clarke joked. “And why is it that those two always avoid getting their hands dirty?”

Lexa laughed.

“It's not that bad, really ... besides, if you help me, it will only take a few minutes,” she encouraged her.

“Aren’t you sleepy?” Clarke asked as she grabbed a few empty bottles from the floor and dropped them in the garbage can.

“Not really, you?”

“Yes ... I mean, no ... I just feel a bit dizzy, but I'm fine ...”

“How much did you drink?”

“Not too much, but that rum you brought ... it was very good and maybe I drank faster than normal ...”

Lexa laughed.

“You can sit if you'd like ...” she offered.

“No! I got this,” Clarke replied, tumbling from one side of the pool to the other, following Lexa, and in less than five minutes, all the bottles, glasses and food scraps were placed in the garbage can.

Lexa rearranged the leftover pizza into several boxes while Clarke gathered up the towels that were left behind and hung them on the clothesline at the back of the house.

On the way back, she saw Lexa standing on the edge of the pool.

“Done ...” Clarke said, shaking her hands, seeming satisfied.

“Do you have a pool leaf rake?” Clarke narrowed her eyes. “I mean a pool skimmer net?”

“Ah! Sure ... why?” she asked, moving closer to Lexa.

“There's a bottle of beer in the pool,” the brunette replied, pointing to the bottom, but just as she turned her head to look at Clarke, she was able to witness, in slow motion, how the blonde tripped over the edge and started falling towards the water.

Her first instinct was to grab her arm to prevent her from falling, which resulted in Clarke taking her down with her and they both fell sideways into the pool.

Lexa swallowed some water as she submerged, as did Clarke, who fell with her mouth open in the middle of shouting some expletive at her clumsiness.

The brunette rushed to the surface, pulling her up as well.

They both coughed and when they opened their eyes, they found themselves barely inches apart.

The blonde looked at Lexa just as the lights were illuminating them from below; her hair and long wet eyelashes, the water running down her face to die on her lips, accentuating her beauty, now much wilder, and her hands gripping her tightly; so much that Clarke could feel a heat running through her body, in contrast to the cold water.

Somehow, the time seemed to have stopped, and, once again, Clarke witnessed how Lexa's eyes slowly darkened as she was looking at her from up close, sending a chill down her spine.

“I'm sorry ...” she whispered, feeling doubly embarrassed and trapped by those huge pupils.

She froze and although she tried to move, she was unable to make her muscles react to the express commands of her brain.

The brunette cocked her head as a shy smile played on her lips.

“If you wanted me to pick it up myself, you should’ve just said so …” she teased, releasing Clarke, and disappeared under the surface, leaving her with the words on her lips.

“No ...” she stammered.

She saw her dive to the bottom, and it was thanks to that distraction that Clarke was able to react, holding onto the edge of the pool, finally able to flee from that proximity.

Lexa grabbed the bottle and surfaced, showing it to her like a trophy.

She swam over to her, unaware of how Clarke trembled as she got closer.

“Got it ...” Lexa said in celebration.

“Good ... I'm freezing ...” she said, turning and trying to get out of the pool in a hurry.

“It’s a bit chilly, yeah…” Lexa said, placing her hands on Clarke's thighs, trying to help her out.

Clarke almost jumped out of the pool when she felt Lexa's hands on her.

_“What the hell is going on?”_ she thought, turning to offer Lexa her hand and help her out of the water.

However, Lexa had already propped herself up and the upper half of her body was out of the pool.

Clarke ogled her toned arms, her biceps tensing as she pushed herself up, and her wet T-shirt clinging to her chest, revealing a black sports bra.

She did not want to stare, but her gaze slipped between the wet fabric and the form of her perky breasts.

Lexa was gorgeous; not like the typical beauty seen in fashion magazines, so cold and impersonal, but rather like a delicious treat that was meant to be thoroughly enjoyed.

“Uh ... a towel ...” Clarke ran to the clothesline, finally succeeding to look away, leaving Lexa standing and covering her torso with her arms.

In a minute Clarke was back with a couple of towels.

“Here...”

“Thank you,” Lexa replied, drying her hair before placing the towel around her shoulders and wrapping herself in it.

“Let's go inside,” Clarke suggested.

“Wait, I’m soaked ... I'll get the whole house wet ...” Lexa started to say, while unbuttoning her jeans.

“Uh ... yeah ... maybe we'd better take off our clothes ...” Clarke said, trying hard not to look at Lexa, embarrassed by how those words sounded in her head.

But what the hell was going on with her?

They were soon in their underwear; Clarke still in her bikini and Lexa in matching boxers with her bra, under a toned abdomen that Clarke somehow resisted looking at directly.

They left their wet clothes spread out on one of the loungers, entered the house and closed the glass door behind them.

Clarke turned off the light in the living room and led Lexa upstairs to her bedroom, trying to calm herself with each new step she took up the staircase.

* * *

As she entered the room, Lexa had the feeling it looked familiar; Maybe it was because from her window she could see parts of it, or maybe because, to a large extent, the distribution and size was very similar to that of her own room, except that everything was on the opposite side.

She was struck by the order in which Clarke kept everything well organized on the shelves, on the desk and on the dressing table, where she could see some makeup brushes poking out of the holder with the legendary logo of The Rolling Stones on it, various cases, some bottles of perfume and all kinds of hair accessories.

But what most caught her attention was the smell that permeated everything.

Lexa had a good sense of smell, but she swore she could recognize it anywhere; among other things, because it was such a distinctive scent that she could only connect it to Clarke.

It was a difficult mix to define; one that probably combined a perfume, bath gel, perhaps some body milk and most importantly, the smell of the blonde's skin; that small touch that differentiates one person from another and that flew and traveled directly to her hypothalamus, causing her temperature to rise, making her feel very thirsty, wondering what it would taste like on her lips.

“I'm going to change,” Clarke said, opening the closet and rummaging for her pajamas in one of the drawers.

“Okay,” Lexa answered, distracted.

Clarke locked herself in the bathroom while Lexa just observed everything, but didn't touch anything, respecting the order and, of course, the blonde's privacy.

She heard the shower water and immediately the image of Clarke and her prominent chest popped up in her mind, surprising her. It was nothing she actively wanted to think about; Lexa was not that kind of person, but seeing her breasts in her bikini top had made it easier to imagine them under the fabric.

She looked at some photos to distract herself; photos of Clarke and Madi as children, in which the blonde seemed to teach her sister to ride a bicycle, some of Clarke not so young, others, perhaps a few years ago, of Clarke playing basketball, and a few more with the girls. However, she didn't see any of her with Finn.

That fact caught her attention, corroborating that Finn, indeed, had not yet reached the official title of “boyfriend”.

She discovered a sketch pad on the desk, at the bottom of which a loose sheet of paper was sticking out, which Lexa pulled, remembering that the blonde had said she had been inspired.

She was unexpectedly curious to discover the style of his drawings.

It was indeed a drawing, a black and white sketch of eyes, made up with a dark paint that ran down the cheeks, creating the effect of some kind of a mask and a small circular ornament or amulet on the forehead.

Lexa was struck by the realism, the expression, the depth of that gaze.

Those eyes ... why did they look familiar?

The bathroom door opened suddenly, and the smell of vanilla gel spread through the air with greater intensity, surprising Lexa, who dropped the drawing automatically as if it were hot, falling to the table.

“Uh... I'm sorry ... I ...” Lexa whispered when she saw Clarke freshly showered, dressed in a pajama set consisting of a black tank top with a small part of lace over the chest area and tartan shorts in red and black.

Her shoulders touching the air, her chest, her thighs all the way to her ankles and her bare feet; that was the order that Lexa's eyes followed, before looking at Clarke’s.

Clarke grimaced, looking somewhat nervous, and walked over to the desk, picking up the notepad, along with the drawing, quietly.

“I didn't mean to pry ...” Lexa apologized, again, much more embarrassed.

“No, it's fine, it doesn't matter ...” she smiled, putting it in one of the drawers, under the clothes.

Lexa cocked her head.

“You sure?” she asked with a nervous smile.

Clarke stopped, still not ready to face Lexa, wondering if she had noticed that she had made that drawing thinking about her story and imagining ... her eyes?

No, there was no way; She quickly convinced herself that even though she had done it thinking about that, the result was not so good, and those eyes was not one bit like Lexa’s.

“Yeah, it’s just that I don't like showing my drawings ... I need to practice more before I show it to anyone…”

“What?? The one I saw is remarkably good ...”

“You think so?” Clarke asked.

She turned around and crossed her arms, finding Lexa’s eyes.

They seemed sincere to her, and consequently her cheeks flushed. She had already heard those same words from Raven and Octavia, even from Madi; the only people she had openly shown her sketchpad to; but hearing them from Lexa reached her on a different level.

“You’re really talented ...” Lexa replied.

“Thank you ...” She smiled, tilting her head slightly. “You haven't changed yet? You'll catch a cold ...” she changed the subject.

“Um ... no ... could I maybe shower first?” Lexa asked, pointing to the bathroom door.

“Of course!” Clarke said. _“Mi casa es tu casa,”_ she added, struggling with the pronunciation.

Lexa smiled as she grabbed her backpack and went inside, leaving the door ajar, just enough for Clarke to be able to witness unintentionally how she began to undress.

Clarke winced and quickly jumped onto the bed, pushing her out of her sight. She got under the covers, pulling the sheets almost to her head, like a frightened child. Her body still felt cold, but it was not the cold that she was fleeing.

It was rather that unfamiliar sensation that tensed the muscles of her back and warmed her hands to the point it made her sweat.

It was that unique energy that Lexa gave off that made her feel… what exactly?

What was that energy anyway?

Lexa stripped off her wet underwear and took a quick shower before putting on her pajamas. She brushed her teeth and walked back with the backpack in one hand and the phone and charger in the other.

“Hey Clarke, could I put my phone to charge?” she asked.

She saw the blonde, lying on the bed, with an expression that made her smile. She really was as adorable as a soft teddy bear.

“Sure, there, just plug it in there, next to the table...” She pointed, looking at Lexa from the side.

The brunette wore a pajama set of shorts with a bow, in light gray, and a very thin white V-neck T-shirt; so thin that Clarke could sense the different, darker texture of her nipples under the fabric.

A sudden heat rose from her chest, invading her neck, like a flare, which she tried to control and contain under her chin, looking away.

Lexa reached the table, plugged in the charger, without haste and putting off the moment of lying down on the bed; because yes, they would share a bed and, although that should not be a major problem, it made her feel uneasy.

After hesitating for a few seconds, she sat down, keeping some distance from the blonde.

“I think you owe me something ...” Clarke said, perhaps in a tone too playful for Lexa's ears, pulling the sheets aside and encouraging her to lie down beside her.

Lexa looked at her, trying to figure out what Clarke was talking about. For a moment, her thoughts sped up her heart rate and her breathing became heavier, almost gasping for air.

Was Clarke trying to seduce her?

_“No, of course not!”_ she thought.

Clarke raised her eyebrows.

“You saw one of my drawings ... which means that you have to update me on your story ...”

“Ahh ... right ...” Lexa stammered, slightly relieved. “Well, it's not much ...”

“Come on ...” the blonde encouraged, with pleading eyes.

“Okay …” Lexa sighed as she lay on her back on the bed.

She raised her arms and tucked them under her head.

Clarke rolled onto her side to watch her intently, her legs accidentally brushing against Lexa's under the sheets.

“Where were we?” Lexa asked, distracted by that simple touch.

“Well ... You said that a series of problems arises between the Sky people and the Grounders...”

“Ah, yes ... the Sky people think that Eliza has been abducted by the Grounders, but in fact she went to meet their leader, Heda, and a huge gorilla surprises them… as the run from it, Heda is injured and Eliza helps her ... in the end they manage to escape ... but in the meantime, the boy Eliza is hooking up with, goes a little crazy believing that the Grounders have captured her and starts a search to find her, which ends with the death of a bunch of Grounders ...”

“Wait...”

“What?”

“Did you say boy?” Lexa nodded. “I thought Eliza would fall in love with Heda?”

“Well, yes... but that comes later ... now she's with this boy ...”

“But then ... I thought Eliza liked girls ...”

“At this point in the story it has not yet been defined ... not everything is black or white, you know?” Lexa smiled softly.

Clarke wrinkled her nose, as if she didn't quite understand.

“So, at this moment she still thinks she's straight or does she already know that she likes girls too?”

“I don't know,” Lexa replied, her smile widening. “Maybe she does, maybe she doesn’t ... everyone should come out of the closet at their own pace, when they feel ready ...”

“But if she's been with a boy, then that means she's bisexual, right?” Clarke continued with the questions.

“Not necessarily ... There are also a lot of lesbians who have been with guys before coming out,” Lexa explained. “Or maybe she's pansexual ...”

“Ah ... by the way, what is the difference between bisexual and pansexual?”

“There are several answers to that question ... Some say that bisexuals are attracted to men and women, while pansexuality welcomes all people, including the ones who do not feel identified by either of these two terms and who have an expression of broader gender, like non-binary, for example ... Although there are others who say that pansexuality is nothing more than a synonym for bisexuality, because “bi” in this case does not mean two sexes, but that it actually means an attraction to people of the same gender and also of another gender, different from yours ... whatever that might be: male, female, non-binary, trans, intersex, etc. ...”

“Oh wow ...” Clarke said confusedly “So ... You are...?”

Lexa laughed.

“Well, I feel female, my ...” she said looking down, “parts ... are anatomically female ... and well, I like girls ... So, I identify myself as a cis female and lesbian.”

“I see ...” she nodded, discovering after that conversation a great spectrum of possibilities regarding tastes, sexuality and orientation; something she had never thought about before.

There were girls who simply liked other girls, as was the case with Lexa, girls who felt like boys and who liked other girls, girls who did not feel like boys nor girls and who liked girls or boys or anyone, regardless of their gender. And so much more.

She tried to remember if Gaia had come out as pansexual or bisexual, which deep down meant that she didn't care so much about the other person's sex, but rather, the person in general.

“And when did you know ...?”

“I guess I've always known it ...” Lexa replied, sounding sure of her answer.

“Have you ever kissed a boy?”

“No! Ew!” Lexa exclaimed, making Clarke smile.

“So how do you know you don't like boys if you've never kissed one?” Clarke asked, genuinely interested.

“I suppose the same way you know that you don't like girls ...”

Clarke winced and looked at Lexa, feeling quite embarrassed.

She was right.

She knew she didn't like girls and she hadn't needed to kiss one to prove it, but the idea of doing it was not something that caused her as much disgust as it was evident that the idea of kissing a boy provoked in Lexa.

So, not being disgusted by the idea meant that she could be… bisexual?

Her cheeks flushed red at the thought. This was all too new for her.

“I’m sorry ... you probably think I’m ignorant, bombarding you with all these questions ...”

“No! Not at all ... it's normal ... people outside of the LGBTQ community don’t usually know about these things,” Lexa smiled.

Clarke was tempted to keep asking, perhaps needing to find the answers to her own questions and abstract thoughts that suddenly invaded her mind.

“I don’t know… I just think… when you know, you know…” Lexa continued, acknowledging her curiosity. “At least in my case ... but sometimes it takes a little longer to fully admit it to yourself ...”

“Right ...” Clarke whispered.

“Some people need a lifetime to accept it ...” she added, shrugging. “Not me, though… Ever since I was little, I was always attracted to girls... I had the occasional crush on a teacher ... and then when I kissed a girl for the first time, it only confirmed what I already knew ...”

“How old were you?”

“Twelve.”

“What happened?” Clarke asked, her eyes widening.

“Nothing, really ... it was just before I moved to Spain ... maybe I needed a moment ... to adapt ... But then I met Costia and I have not been with any other girl since.”

“Speaking of it ... you didn't answer my question before,” Clarke said, returning to that topic that seemed to interest her so much.

But was she only interested in understanding what she needed to do to be able to take that step with Finn, or was she more interested in knowing if Lexa and Costia had done it?

Lexa met her gaze.

“What do you mean?”

“Um ... if you and Costia have ... well ...” Clarke said, blushing. “But you don't have to answer if you don’t want to...” she hurried, backing away.

“No no ... it's just that ... we still ... haven’t ...”

“Really?” Clarke asked between surprised and… relieved?

“No ... like I said before ... it's a big step ... I needed some time to feel sure about it, but just when I decided ... we were moving again ...”

“Oh ... I'm sorry ...” she said, however, she wasn’t sorry at all.

But why was the idea of Lexa being a virgin making so happy?

“Nah ... it's fine ... I'll spend the Christmas holidays in Madrid ... and then maybe we can ...” She stopped, feeling embarrassed.

It was a bit weird talking about something she didn't usually talk about with anyone, but somehow it felt good to do it with Clarke; she gave her the feeling that she could trust her.

“Maybe we should sleep ...” the blonde suggested suddenly.

Lexa felt Clarke's attitude change.

Had she said something that had bothered her?

However, she chose not to comment on it, convincing herself that it was only her imagination.

“Sure, yeah...”

“Goodnight ...” Clarke added, turning off the light.

“Goodnight ...” Lexa whispered, moving to the side, and turning her back to Clarke.

Clarke did the same and squeezed her eyes shut, with the intention of sleeping and putting a stop to the spinning in her head, with all that new information making her dizzy, as if she were on a giant carousel.

She had a foreboding, like something that was once far away, yet now felt closer than ever, threatening to make its presence and destroy everything on its path; still, she chose to believe that it was all because of the residual effect of the alcohol running through her veins.


	12. Costia

When the morning light rested mercilessly on Lexa's eyelids, her first instinct was to resist opening her eyes, unwilling to part from the pleasant heat of the body next to her.

She smiled, her eyes still shut as she arched her back, feeling the soft skin of legs intertwined with her own and a strong grip around her waist, refusing to let go of her.

_"Wait a minute..."_ She thought, her eyes now wide open as she rewound the images from the previous night in her head, realizing that it was Clarke's arm that was wrapped around her.

Slowly, she turned her head around and looked over her shoulder, finding strands of blonde hair on the pillow behind, confirming that it was indeed Clarke whose silky skin she was feeling pressed against her back.

Lexa soon realized that she was feeling the pressure of Clarke's breasts between her shoulder blades and her warm breath on the back of her neck, inevitably making her blush, although still finding herself reluctant to break the contact.

They had slept in the same bed, and Clarke was spooning her.

_"Thank God she's profoundly asleep..."_ Lexa thought, convinced that the blonde would be embarrassed if she woke up and found herself in that position.

If it happened, though, Lexa knew she would make sure to let Clarke know that it was okay and that she didn't mind...

Hold up... Why didn't she mind?? She should, though, right? After all, what would Costia have to say about Lexa sleeping and spooning with her neighbor?

_"Shit! Costia!"_ Lexa nervously bit her lip when the thought of her girlfriend invaded her mind, and she quickly stretched her arm, trying to reach her phone that was charging where she had left it the previous night, on Clarke's desk.

The blonde hummed at the sudden movement and loosened the grip around Lexa's waist before she turned to the other side, facing the door.

As soon as she broke free, Lexa got up and took a few steps towards the desk, where she grabbed her phone after unplugging it, only to realize that she had not turned it on the previous night. It was fully charged, but she knew there were probably quite a few messages from Costia, who was most likely worried by now, wondering why her girlfriend's phone was turned off at…

_"10:30 am?? Shit!"_ She nearly cursed out loud when she glanced at the clock on the wall.

Lexa turned on her phone, and the moment she typed the password, the screen was unlocked, suddenly bombarded with notifications, all at once and all of them from Costia.

12 new messages and 3 missed calls.

"Good morning..." She heard Clarke's voice and assumed she was probably woken up by the notification sound on her phone.

"Hey... Good morning..." Lexa turned around and looked at her at the exact moment when Clarke was lazily stretching in bed, revealing the naked skin of her abdomen and her legs. "Uh... Sorry if I woke you up..." The brunette said, managing to look away from Clarke's body and into her eyes.

"Nah, it's fine..." Clarke smiled at her and lifted the upper part of her body, leaning on her elbows. "You're very popular today..." she added, playfully raising an eyebrow as she lowered her eyes to Lexa's phone that the latter was holding in her hands.

"Oh, right... Um... It's just that I forgot to turn on my phone last night when I plugged it in..." Lexa explained.

"Looks like you were missed..." Clarke commented, keeping the smile on her face as she sat up and got out of the bed, heading towards the bathroom.

Lexa watched her disappear behind the bathroom door before she fixed her gaze on the screen again, determined to finish reading the messages from Costia

The first one was sent about 5 hours earlier; taking the different time zones into account, it would had been a little after noon in Madrid, probably when Costia had woken up after her night out. The next message was sent two hours later, and the rest of them were spread out through the last hour or so, the last one only ten minutes ago. As far as the missed calls, those were in between the texts, and it was obvious that Costia was worried about Lexa, asking her to call her back as soon as she would see the notifications.

After reading the last text message, Lexa hurried to write back.

_Lexa (10:36 am):_  
Hey, baby... I'm sorry, my phone died 🤦🏼♀️ I just woke up, but everything's ok, don't worry 😘

The reply came immediately.

_Costia (10:36 am):_  
Wtf Lexa?! I was worried sick! When did you get home?

_Lexa (10:37 am):_  
Sorry, won't happen again 😳 I'm actually not home yet...

_Costia (10:37 am):  
_?? Where are you?

Lexa hesitated for a few seconds.

There was nothing wrong with telling her the truth. However, she couldn't help but fear Costia’s reaction if she knew that she had shared a bed with her neighbor; although, on second thought, if she just avoided that detail, then it should be fine... Right?

_Lexa (10:38 am):_  
A few of us stayed over at Clarke's.

_Costia (10:38 am):_  
Yeah? So, do I finally get to meet this hot neighbor of yours?

Lexa could sense Costia's jealousy in the last message, and it made her even more nervous, the memory of her waking up in Clarke's arms that same morning still fresh on her mind.

"Hey, Lexa! Good morning!"

She looked up from the screen and saw Octavia peeking through the bedroom door.

"Where's Clarke?" She asked.

"Hey, Octavia... In the bathroom," Lexa smiled.

"Cool... We've been up for an hour already... There's coffee in the kitchen if you'd like some..." she informed.

The sound of a new text message resonated in the room and Lexa quickly checked her phone.

"Sorry, I have to take this..." she said, passing Octavia on her way out of Clarke's bedroom, still looking at the screen.

It was a new text from Costia, asking her to video chat, and Lexa could sense from the way it was written that there was no room for negotiation if she wanted to avoid any additional tension between them.

She almost ran down the stairs and through the living room, quickly greeting Raven before she reached the glass slide door on her way to the pool.

Once outside, she opened the chat with Costia and pressed the button to start a video call.

* * *

  
A few moments later, Clarke and Octavia served themselves some coffee in the kitchen and went to the living room, joining Raven, who seemed to be eavesdropping on the conversation between Lexa and Costia.

"Looks like Lexa's in trouble..." she commented, still concentrated on the conversation on the other side of the door.

"Is it Costia?" Octavia was curious. "Lexa got a message upstairs and pretty much ran out of Clarke's room..."

"Yes, I definitely heard British accent... And from what I understand, she's not happy about Lexa spending the night here..." Raven replied. "I heard something about neighbor and missed calls..."

"Girls... They're having a private conversation, you shouldn't eavesdrop!" Clarke interfered, feeling uncomfortable about the whole situation.

"Oh, come on, Clarkie, don't be so uptight!" Raven snorted.

"I guess it's true what they say about long distance relationships..." Octavia commented and took a sip of her coffee.

"And with Costia's hot temperament... Uff... She seems more Spanish than British!" Raven chuckled. "I bet she'll lose her mind if she ever sees the photo I took this morning..."

"What photo?" Clarke frowned.

Raven pulled out her phone, opened the last photo from her camera roll and showed it to the blonde with a grin on her face; in the photo Clarke recognized herself and Lexa in bed, and she was hugging the latter from behind, with her arm wrapped around her waist.

A wave of heat spread through her body, all the way to her cheeks, painting them bright red.

"Ray!!" Clarke shrieked. "Give it to me!" She yelled as she stretched her arm, trying to grab her friend's phone.

Raven was faster and managed to hide the phone behind her back and body-swerved around the table, getting away from Clarke, who instinctively stood up and went after her.

"Raven, I'm serious! Give me that phone!" Clarke said in a threatening tone, still running after Raven, who was now going through the glass slide door, laughing as she ran towards the pool.

Lexa was standing near the edge and immediately turned her head when she heard the girls approaching her. She was still on the video call with Costia, who had also heard the noise and expressed her curiosity about it.

"Aren't you going to introduce me?" She asked Lexa, raising an eyebrow.

"Raven! Get back here!" Clarke yelled at her friend, standing near the glass door. "Lexa, I'm so sorry... We'll get out of your way as soon as Raven stops playing around..." She said, glaring at Raven.

"But I want to meet Lexa's girlfriend!" Raven said in a tone that resembled a little child asking for ice cream.

"Jesus, Ray..." Clarke huffed.

"Hey girls, what's up?" They suddenly heard Costia's voice coming from Lexa's phone.

"See? She wants to meet us too!" Raven stuck out her tongue at Clarke and put her phone in her pocket before she approached Lexa. "Hey, Costia! Nice to meet you, I'm Raven!" She said as she waved at the camera, standing next to Lexa.

"Nice to meet you too, Raven!" Costia gave her a big smile.

"Wow, you were hot in the photos, but you're even hotter on video!" Raven complemented her, making her smile widen.

"Thank you, Raven! And ditto!" Costia winked at her. "Where are the others? I thought I heard someone else there..."

"Blondie, come over here! And get Octavia, we're meeting Costia!" Raven shouted, waving at Clarke who was about to enter inside in an attempt to avoid the introduction.

Lexa glanced at her and couldn't help but feel nervous and a bit worried about Costia's reaction. She knew that her girlfriend had probably checked out Clarke's profiles on social media, especially after the "hot neighbor" comment, but she still felt a certain unease about them meeting "face to face".

Clarke turned around and slowly approached them, along with Octavia who had also come out of the house to join the video chat.

Lexa gave her phone to Raven, who then stood between Clarke and Octavia, continuing the conversation.

"This is Octavia..." She said, pointing the front camera towards her friend. "And this is Clarke..." She added as she turned the camera to the blonde.

They both waved at Costia, who did the same with a polite smile on her lips.

"Nice to meet you all..." She said, looking at Clarke. "And thank you for making my Lexa feel so welcome."

"Of course!" Octavia replied. "We love Lexa, she's awesome!"

"And Clarke... Thank you for making room for her last night..." Costia added, still sounding extremely polite.

"Oh... Um..." The blonde quickly glanced at Lexa, who was blushing, and then back at Costia.

Had Lexa told her that they slept in the same bed?

"I... um... Sure..." Clarke finally managed to say.

"You'll have to excuse her, Costia..." Raven took over again. "She hasn't had her coffee yet, so she's a bit slow..."

"Yeah, speaking of... I should probably get back to it before it gets cold..." Clarke said. "It was nice to meet you, Costia!" She waved at her before she walked away from them.

Costia waved back and continued the conversation with Octavia and Raven, while Clarke went back to the living room and sat on the couch, replaying the images of the chat with Costia in her head.

The girl was gorgeous; she had big, almond-shaped hazel eyes, elegant nose and brown hair, her tanned complexion giving her an exotic touch in contrast with her perfect, white teeth.

_"Of course Lexa's into her..."_ she thought. _"Why would she want a plain American girl like me when she can have a freaking Greek goddess like Costia?"_

But... Where did that thought come from?

Why was she comparing herself to Costia?

It was not like she wished that Lexa would look at her... that way... Right?

She could not quite figure it out yet, but there was something about Costia that made her feel insecure, and even though they had only exchanged a few words, she found her intimidating.

"She seems nice..." Octavia's voice interrupted the flow of her thoughts.

Clarke turned her head and saw her friends walking back into the living room, and a few moments later they were seated in the armchairs in front of her.

"It must be so frustrating for them... I bet they were doing it all summer, and now they'll have to wait at least until Christmas," Raven said.

The blonde chose not to comment on it, and even though she knew that Costia and Lexa had not had sex yet, the idea of them having their first time together soon didn't amuse her.

"Although, I bet they have hot cybersex!" Raven added, a big grin stretching her lips.

"Speaking of hot... Have you seen Wells' body? He's ripped!" Octavia changed the subject, to Clarke's relief, and showed her friends a photo Wells that had recently posted on his Instagram profile.

"Damn..." Raven widened her eyes. "Now that's the perfect summer makeover! Clarke, did you know he had been working out?" she turned to the blonde.

"No... You know I barely hand out with him lately... with his parents splitting up, he spent most of the summer with his mother at his grandmother's house in Beaumont..."

"How come he didn't come to the party yesterday?" Octavia asked.

"Dunno..." Clarke shrugged. "He wasn't at school on Friday, so I sent him a text with the invitation, but he didn't reply..."

"Well, I wouldn't go either if I were him..." Raven commented before she took a sip of her coffee.

"What? Why?" Clarke frowned.

"Oh, come on, Clarke..." The Latina rolled her eyes. "Everyone knows he's had a crush on you since middle school... and now you're with Finn, so I get that Wells doesn't want to be around, watching you snuggle with your boyfriend at a party..."

"Wells does NOT have a crush on me! We're friends!" Clarke protested, without realizing that Lexa had entered the living room and was now standing between the glass door and the sofa, holding some clothes in her hands.

"I know you are friends, but that doesn't mean he doesn't want to be something more than that..." Raven insisted. "Hey, Lexa!"

Clarke followed her look and turned her head, founding Lexa standing behind the sofa.

"Hey..." Lexa smiled at them, sensing the slight tension in the air. "Our clothes are dry... I picked them up from the deck chair," she added, looking at the blonde.

"Right... um, cool..." Clarke smiled at her as she stood up. "Here, I'll take them upst...."

"Wait... why were your clothes wet?" Octavia asked with an inquisitive look in her eyes.

"I tripped and fell in the pool while we were cleaning up last night..." Clarke explained, trying to block the memory of losing herself in Lexa's big pupils after they had fallen into the water. "You're welcome, by the way!" she added with a sharp look aimed at her friends, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh... yeah... thanks, girls!" Raven grinned at them. "Lexa, did you fall too or...?"

"Um, kind of..." Lexa chuckled, earning a knowing glance from Clarke, who extended her arm to take the clothes from her hands. "Actually, I was going to go up anyway... I wanted to wash up and change my clothes before I go home..."

"Already?" Octavia exclaimed, visibly surprised. "But we were gonna have some leftover pizza..."

"Thanks... but I should be getting home..." Lexa said politely. "I always help my mom with lunch on Sundays..."

"That's sweet..." Clarke smiled at her.

"Uh... I'll just... uh..." Lexa stammered, pointing awkwardly at the staircase as a slight blush suffused her cheeks.

"Sure, yeah..." the blonde sat back on the sofa and watched her climb the stairs to her room, feeling a bit disappointed that their weekend was coming to an end.

* * *

The following week went by quickly; between homework, basketball practice and other extracurricular activities, Clarke had barely any time to socialize, except during daily lunch break with her friends at the school cafeteria. Some days Lexa would sit at their table, and others, she would spend under the bleachers with Gaia and her group of friends, which now included Bellamy as well, since he and Roan were not on speaking terms, and all the other jocks, except Lincoln, always sat with Roan. Clarke tried to talk about it with Bellamy and get the details of their brawl, but he refused to reveal anything, insisting that it was nothing else but a drunk fight, and Finn claimed the same, so, in the end, she stopped insisting.

On Saturday, the girls basketball team had their first match of the school year, and Indra was tremendously pleased to see everyone work as a team, including Ontari, whom she let play in the last two quarters of the game, trying to avoid any additional tension between her and Lexa. The coach hoped she had learned her lesson, which could lead to less bench time, and maybe even to the starting lineup, at least for some of the games of the season.

Clarke was also glad to see that Lexa was getting along with everyone on the team, and they had a nice walk home that Saturday from the traditional celebratory lunch the team always had after a win.

The following Monday, the school announced the official date for the Homecoming dance, which would be on the 10th of October after the Varsity Football game the day before. On Tuesday, Lexa joined Clarke, Octavia and Raven for lunch, and she was surprised to see that Finn was not with them, and he was not at the jocks' table either. Just as Lexa thought he was not going to make an appearance, she spotted him walking between the tables with a smug smile on his face. He approached their table and knelt on the floor, next to Clarke's seat, surprising her, as well as the rest of the group, before they realized it was a homecoming proposal. He unbuttoned his red Letterman Jacket with the Mustangs logo on the front left side, revealing a white t-shirt underneath that read "Will you go to Homecoming with me?" in printed black letters on the chest area, and under the print, there were two possible answers, "yes" and "no", and an unchecked checkbox next to each answer.

Clarke widened her eyes when she came to the realization that Finn was asking her to the Homecoming dance in front of everyone, kneeling on the floor and extending his arm towards her with a marker pen in his hand, waiting for her answer as he flashed his perfect white smile at her. Being one of the most popular boys at school, it was no surprise that his proposal got the attention of pretty much everyone in the cafeteria and was soon accompanied by cheers and sighs.

Lexa swallowed hard in anticipation, with her gaze fixed on Clarke, trying to read the expression on her face.

Was she happy? Flattered? Or maybe she would have preferred being asked in a more intimate setting?

To her surprise, Clarke's cheeks did not turn red nor did she seemed upset; a smile cropped up on her lips as she grabbed the marker pen from Finn's hand and checked the checkbox next to the word "yes" printed on the boy's t-shirt. It was not the biggest smile Lexa had seen on the blonde's face, but it was enough to convince her, and everyone else for that matter, that she was more than fine with Finn's public gesture.

Not that she needed to convince anyone. And why should she care about any of that?

Finn raised his fist up in the air in victory as he stood up, surprising Clarke when he leaned towards her and placed his lips on her, initiating a kiss, to which everyone started clapping and cheering.

Well, almost everyone.

Lexa noticed the way Clarke's body tensed at the unexpected public display of affection, and she felt relieved when she saw her end the kiss quickly, choosing the give the boy a hug instead.

The brunette wondered if anyone else had seen it as well, or maybe everyone just assumed that Finn and Clarke were the perfect couple and that they had just witnessed the perfect Homecoming proposal.

But then again, why should she care about any of that?

* * *

On Wednesday afternoon, Clarke and Lexa were getting ready to go home after the basketball practice, and just as they were about to leave the locker room, they heard Gaia calling Lexa's name. They turned around and saw the dark-skinned girl approaching them from the direction of the showers, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around her body.

"Hey, Lexa... I was wondering if I could talk to you about something?" she said as she stood in front of her.

"Yeah, sure..." Lexa said casually. "You mean, now?" she asked when she saw that Gaia was not moving.

"If you don't mind, yeah... it'll only take a moment..." she said, glancing at Clarke, letting her know that she had a private conversation in mind.

"Uh... I'll wait for you outside, yeah?" Clarke asked Lexa, a bit annoyed, but hiding it well under a polite smile.

"Thanks, I'll be right out..." Lexa smiled at the blonde and watched her walk away from them. "So... Is everything okay?" she asked as she turned her head to face Gaia, giving her her full attention.

"Oh, yes... totally... Um... all good..." Gaia stammered a little bit. "No, it's just that... Well, it's about Homecoming... You see…” she took a deep breath before continuing. “There's someone I like, but they're going to the dance with someone else, but I mean, it's not like I would ever dare to pop the question anyway..." she started rambling.

Lexa smiled and cocked her head, encouraging her to continue with a soft look in her eyes.

"So, um... The point is, I wouldn't feel comfortable going with anyone else, and since you have a girlfriend, I thought maybe you'd like to go with someone who's not gonna make a move on you... ergo... _moi!_ " She smiled at the end, taking a little bow.

Lexa raised her eyebrows, seeming a bit surprised as well as amused.

"I mean, feel free to say no... really, I just thought, it's better to go with a friend, and maybe we can bitch about your girlfriend being on another continent, and me being too much of a coward to do something about this crush I've had since freshman year..." she chuckled nervously. "What do you say?"

"I'd be honored!" Lexa did not hesitate, finding Gaia's rambling absolutely adorable.

She appreciated Gaia opening up to her about her crush, and she felt that going to the Homecoming dance with her was the least she could do, considering the girl had shown her nothing but kindness ever since they had met. Plus, she really did feel honored to be the class president's first choice; Gaia was very attractive and popular, and Lexa had no doubt that a lot of people would've liked to be in her place right now, but Gaia had chosen her, and she accepted with a big smile on her face.

Plus, she was sure they were going to have a great time together, and she knew that Costia would not have a problem with it, especially now that Gaia had confided in her about her infatuation with this mysterious person.

* * *

"Hey! Thanks for waiting..." Lexa greeted Clarke outside the school, near the entrance.

"Sure..." Clarke smiled and put away the phone in her pocket. "All good?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, yes... We were just talking about Homecoming..." Lexa replied as they started walking across the parking lot.

"Right... I forgot she's the President of the Junior Student Council..." Clarke nodded. "Did she fill you in on all the upcoming activities and events? The hallway decorating, the class bucket competition, the dress up days, the pep rally?"

Lexa glanced at Clarke, making her smile nervously.

_"What was all that about?"_ Clarke wondered.

"Not really, no... She just asked me to be her date for the dance," Lexa replied casually.

"She... what?" Clarke frowned, wondering if she had heard it right. "Um... doesn't she know that you have a girlfriend?" she asked, sounding almost angry.

"She does, yes... She wants to go as friends."

"Yeah, right..." Clarke snorted. "Are you going to tell Costia?"

"About what?"

"That she asked you to the dance?"

"Of course... Gaia and I are friends, and we're going to the dance as friends..."

"Wait... you said yes??" Clarke widened her eyes.

"Why wouldn't I?" Lexa shrugged.

"Um... well... I don't know... If I were Costia, I would be pissed..."

"You would?" Lexa turned her head to look at Clarke.

"Yeah, I mean... maybe not pissed, but I wouldn't be thrilled about my girlfriend going to Homecoming with someone who's obviously into her..."

"What?" Lexa chuckled. "What makes you think Gaia's into me?"

"Pfff... come on... it's obvious... She's been all over you since the first day of school."

"Well, I beg to differ..." Lexa smiled, unwilling to reveal that she knew that Gaia was, in fact, into someone else.

"You can beg all you want, but that ain't gonna change the fact that she's gonna be making her move at the dance..." Clarke teased in an exaggerated Southern accent, making Lexa laugh out loud as they continued their walk home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you for your comments, I hope you're enjyoing the story!!  
> Before I start writing the next chapter, I'd love to hear from you! Any ideas for the Homecoming spirit week?


	13. "Se iluminaba"

The following day, Clarke was on her way to Spanish class, when she spotted her friend Wells taking some notebooks out of his locker. He hadn't been at school since Friday, and she couldn't help but feel sad that he had been so distant lately, especially with her.

Was Raven right? Did he have feelings for her?

_"Nah, he's probably just stressed because of his parents' divorce..."_ She thought as she approached him.

"Hey, Wells!" She greeted as she stood next to him.

"Hey..." Wells greeted back with a half-smile, barely making an eye contact.

"You never wrote back..." Clarke cut to the chase. "Why didn't you come to my house?"

"Sorry... I was busy..." He replied almost mechanically as he closed the locker and started walking down the hallway.

This was not the Wells she knew.

Had she done something to upset him?

"Doing what?" Clarke insisted, following him on his way to his first class.

"Just... stuff..." He shrugged.

"Hey!" Clarke raised her voice as she grabbed him by the forearm, finally getting his attention.

He stopped walking and looked at her, raising his eyebrows.

"Are you mad at me or something?" She asked.

"Not everything is about you, Clarke..." Wells said, sounding annoyed. "If you must know, I was at my grandma's in Beaumont..."

"Why?" Clarke continued with the questions, choosing to overlook Wells' snarky comment.

"She had a bad fall, so I stayed with her to help her out until my mom could get some days off work..." He explained.

"I'm so sorry, Wells..." Clarke said softly, her hand still resting on Wells' forearm. "Is she okay?"

"Yes... She broke her wrist, but she'll be fine..."

"Ugh... I hate this!" She huffed. "When did we go from telling each other everything to you not even answering my texts?"

"I guess we just have different priorities right now..." He replied, and, from the tone of his voice, she couldn't figure out if he was being sarcastic, mad, or anything, for that matter. "Gotta go..." He added as he pulled away from her grip and started walking again.

This time, Clarke didn't follow him.

She just stood there, in the middle of the crowded hallway, wondering what had happened to their friendship.

* * *

"Maybe I gave him too much space, I don't know..." Clarke said, as they passed the street sign for Cobblestone Drive.

"What do you mean?" Lexa asked.

Clarke had confided in her on their walk home, hoping she would be able to give her an objective opinion on the matter, since she didn't really know Wells.

Although, it seemed that Clarke didn't know him well either.

Not anymore.

"I figured he needed some space to process everything that was going on with his parents... So, we didn't text as much this summer when he was away... I told him that he could talk to me when he was ready, and he said he would... But he had never ghosted me before..."

"Maybe he was telling the truth... Maybe he was really busy helping his grandma, and it just slipped his mind..." Lexa said, hoping it was indeed the case.

She could see that Clarke was sad, and, unavoidably, she felt an inexplicable urge to find a way to make it all better.

To be there for her.

It had been a while since Lexa had thought of someone as being her best friend, but she felt Clarke might be it.

And best friends should always be there for each other, just like she wanted to be for Clarke.

"Maybe..." Clarke shrugged. "But... He's been different lately... Even when we hung out the first day of school..."

"Different, how?" Lexa frowned.

"I don't know... Just different..." Clarke hesitated. "What if... Raven's right?"

"About what?"

"I don't know if you heard what she said on Sunday, at my place..." Clarke said as they stood in front of Lexa's house. "She suggested that Wells might have feelings for me..."

"Oh... I think I heard a part of the conversation, but I didn't really know who you were talking about," Lexa remembered. "Well... I haven't really seen the two of you together, so it's hard to say... But it could explain some of his behavior..."

"You think?"

"It's possible... How does he behave around your bo... uh... around Finn?" Lexa corrected herself, remembering that Clarke didn't want Finn to be referred to as her boyfriend.

But that was before his big gesture; The homecoming proposal everyone had been talking about.

Ugh. So cheesy.

"Uh... We haven't really hung out together... I guess he doesn't like Finn, but he feels that way about the rest of the jocks too... Not his type of people, he always said..."

"I don't know, Clarke... Whatever it is, you should be able to talk to him about it... He's your friend, after all."

"You're right..." Clarke nodded. "I'm sorry for laying all this on you..." She added with a nervous smile.

"Oh... No, not at all..." Lexa smiled back. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you figure it out..."

"You've helped more than you know..." Clarke replied, meeting Lexa's piercing green stare.

A few seconds went by, almost as if it were in slow motion; the way Lexa's eyes moved to Clarke's lips that were now stretched into a soft smile, before she found her blue eyes again, reluctant to look away as Lexa's cheeks were starting to change colors.

"Thanks for listening," Clarke added, surprising Lexa when she wrapped her arms around her shoulders.

Lexa instinctively hugged her back, placing her arms around Clarke's waist, and closed her eyes as her sweet scent invaded her nostrils.

Just as she felt the blonde loosen the grip around her shoulders, she received yet another surprise; Clarke placed her warm lips on her cheek before she pulled back and smiled at her.

"Uh... Sure... No problem..." Lexa managed to smile back; or at least she thought she did, hoping she wasn't displaying any signs of confusion and timidness on her face.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Clarke flashed her teeth as she waved goodbye, and started walking towards her house. "Oh! Almost forgot!" She turned around, finding Lexa just as she had left her. "Could you help me with my Spanish assignment? I have no idea what I'm supposed to do... And you must be so bored in class..."

"No, it's fine... I mean... Maybe a little bit, but it will help my GPA..." Lexa hurried to reply. "But yes..." She cleared her throat. "I'll help you... Maybe we can do an act together..."

"Really?" Clarke's smile widened. "That would be awesome!"

"Sure... It could be fun."

"Great! How about you come over on Saturday after practice and we try to figure something out?"

"Okay... Sounds good," Lexa smiled, still unable to move from her spot.

"It's a date!" Clarke said as she turned around and walked away.

Lexa was finally able to lift her feet off the ground, and she could swear she could still feel Clarke lips burning through her skin as she stepped inside her house.

* * *

On Saturday, there was a change of plans; instead of meeting at Clarke's house, they had agreed to work on their homework at Lexa's, since they were already going to be having family lunch there.

The Woods had invited the Griffins for a barbecue, and everyone was already in the backyard, by the pool, when Clarke and Lexa arrived around 11:30 am, after finishing their basketball practice.

Gustus and Jake were drinking beers and getting ready to start the barbecue, while Abby and Becca were lying on the deck chairs, sipping cocktails and laughing out loud. Madi was sitting on the edge of the pool, with her feet inside the water, and she was concentrated on her phone, texting her boyfriend Luca among other things.

"Hey, here they are!" Jake exclaimed cheerfully as soon as he noticed his daughter and her friend. "We were just talking about you, girls!"

"Oh no..." Clarke rolled her eyes, even though she was in fact amused by her father's comment.

"No no, nothing to worry about..." Jake continued as he approached them with a big smile on his face and placed his arms around Clarke's and Lexa's shoulders. "We were just saying how much we enjoyed your first game of the season, and that we're glad to see the two of you hitting it off on the court as well."

"Thanks, dad..." Clarke smiled at him, trying hard not to blush.

As soon as she glanced at Lexa, she felt relieved, because she wasn't alone; Lexa was blushing as well.

Jake gave them a quick squeeze before he walked away, joining Gustus, who was moving around the outdoor grill, getting everything ready.

"How was your practice?" Becca asked the girls.

"Fine..." Lexa replied quickly.

"Lexa..." Abby joined the conversation. "Are you excited about Homecoming?"

"Oh... I guess..." She replied, trying not to sound rude.

The truth was, she wasn't excited about it. She was not a big fan of dancing, and her girlfriend wasn't going to be there, so she didn't think of the event as being special or something to look forward to.

But she couldn't tell Abby that; she wasn't even sure if Clarke had told her mother about Costia.

"Who's the lucky boy who gets to take you to the dance?" Abby asked with a curious smile.

_"Guess not... She has no clue..."_ Lexa thought.

Clarke's whole body tensed at the question, and she hoped Lexa would not mention her girlfriend or anything about her being gay.

Based on some of Abby's comments on homosexuality in the past, Clarke had a feeling her mother would not approve of her being associated with someone like Lexa.

"I'm actually going with a friend..." Lexa replied casually. "Her name is Gaia."

Clarke held her breath.

"Oh..." Abby raised her eyebrows. "Your coach's daughter?"

"Yes," Lexa confirmed.

"Clarke, who's _your_ date?" Becca asked before Abby could continue with her interrogatory.

"His name's Finn," Clarke replied politely.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Becca was curious.

"Mom!!" Lexa protested, raising her eyebrows.

"Hopefully, just a fling... She can do a lot better than that Collins boy..." Abby answered instead, unaware of the way Clarke rolled her eyes at her.

"Hey, you two..." Madi interrupted the somewhat tense moment. "I was waiting for you... Wanna get in the pool?"

Clarke sighed relieved.

"Yes!" She and Lexa replied in unison.

Their eyes met, and they chuckled as they went inside to put on their bathing suits.

* * *

As soon as they finished eating, Madi excused herself, saying she had agreed to meet her friends at the mall. Clarke and Lexa smiled at each other knowingly; they had no doubt in their minds that Madi was, in fact, meeting Luca in the skate park.

Thankfully, Abby had no clue about that either, otherwise she would not have approved of her daughter's hobby, just like she did not like Clarke playing basketball.

Once Madi had left, Lexa and Clarke decided to go upstairs and start working on their assignment.

"I was really surprised how good your fake meat tasted..." Clarke commented as they were walking up the stairs.

"You really hadn't tried jackfruit before?" Lexa asked, remembering the moment Clarke had tried her dish earlier at lunch; the way she opened her mouth, letting out an almost erotic moan as she tasted the food, her lips wrapped around the fork.

"No... Looks like I've been missing out..."

"Definitely..." Lexa smiled at her as she opened her bedroom door. "Come in..."

She moved to the side, letting Clarke in.

"Thanks," the blonde smiled back as she passed her by and entered the room.

Clarke scanned the space.

Earlier, when they had gone upstairs to change, she had hardly noticed that Lexa's room was quite similar to her own, except for the window on the opposite side. The bed was placed in the center of the wall on the left, across the built-in wardrobe, the window on the opposite side of the door, the desk next to the wardrobe near the window, and a bookcase on the other side, in which she was able to distinguish some books and objects decorating a mainly empty space.

She wondered why.

Maybe Lexa didn’t expect to stay in Houston for a long time?

If that was the case, Clarke could understand her well. She herself was dying to get out of there and fly to Los Angeles to chase her dream. Lexa, she figured, would not hesitate to return to Spain, to her girlfriend, at the slightest opportunity that was feasible for her. However, thinking about it made Clarke feel a slight sting in her chest, so instead, she chose to believe that the somewhat empty shelves must have been the result of all those moves across the world that had forced Lexa to travel lightly, leaving things behind, throwing them away, or simply forgetting to pack them.

While Clarke was looking around the room, Lexa turned on her laptop and put on the internet radio she and Costia used to listen to in Spain. It wasn't her favorite radio station but listening to it reminded her of Costia and her life in Madrid, so she found herself doing it quite often since she had moved to Houston, especially the first week.

It made her feel closer to her girlfriend, and in some way, it gave her comfort knowing that it was something that they could still do together, in spite of the physical distance between them.

"Do you play?" Clarke broke the silence.

Lexa turned around and saw that she was standing next to her guitar, gently touching the tuning keys with the tip of her finger.

"I do... It relaxes me," Lexa replied.

"I always wanted to learn..." Clarke said, and Lexa recognized a hint of sadness in the blonde's half-smile.

"Why didn't you?" She asked.

"My mom felt that it wasn't sophisticated enough..." Clarke replied, moving her fingers down the neck of the guitar. "So, she signed me up for piano lessons instead."

"I could teach you, if you'd like..." Lexa blurted out as soon as the thought was formed in her mind.

Clarke looked up at her, and her eyes sparkled as a big smile cropped up on her lips.

"Really? You would do that?" She asked excitedly.

"Sure..." Lexa couldn't help but smile as well.

She loved that she was the one who was responsible for that big grin on the blonde's face. She hadn't even done anything special, yet Clarke's face had lit up as if she had promised her the world.

Lexa was discovering that it was one of the things she liked the most about the blonde - her enthusiasm, even about the smallest things.

It was only two days ago when she saw that same grin when she had accepted to help her out with the assignment. It had made Clarke so happy, that she had even given her a hug and a kiss on her cheek.

Another thing Lexa had discovered was that she loved seeing Clarke happy.

And she didn't mind that kiss either.

"What's that song?" Clarke's voice interrupted her flow of thoughts, referring to the song resonating from the laptop.

"Oh... It was a big hit in Spain last year... Well, it still is... Do you like it?"

"I like the melody... But the rhythm's a little fast for my taste... I think it would sound a lot better as a ballad," Clarke said. "Maybe an acoustic version even..." She added. "What is it called?"

"Se iluminaba," Lexa replied quickly.

Hearing Lexa speak Spanish did something to Clarke; it had happened also a few days ago, when she heard her in class, and it was happening again now.

Whenever the brunette spoke in Spanish, Clarke could feel something like spasms in her lower abdomen, and a slight tingling down her spine, starting at her neck, all the way down to her coccyx.

She found it interesting how different Lexa's lips looked when the words coming out of them were in Spanish; Even the tone of her voice changed to a deeper one, maybe raspier as well.

Lexa sounded confident and comfortable, and Clarke knew she could never get tired of listening to her speak that sensual language.

Clarke nodded at her before she looked away, hoping Lexa hadn't noticed her eyes lingering on her voluminous lips even after she had told her the title of the song.

"It wouldn't be difficult, you know..." Lexa spoke again.

"What?" Clarke frowned, meeting her eyes again.

"To do an acoustic version of it..." Lexa clarified. " As far as I can tell, the song doesn't have more than three chords... Four tops."

"Wow... You can tell that just by listening to the song right now?" Clarke was impressed.

"Oh, I've listened to it plenty..." Lexa chuckled softly. "It's been on the radio for a year or so..." She added as she walked towards Clarke and grabbed the guitar from the stand.

Clarke quietly observed as Lexa muted the sound on the computer, and sat on the chair, holding the guitar in her arms as she laid it on her thigh. Her long fingers were wrapped around the neck of the guitar, and she started moving them skillfully along the fingerboard while her right hand was placed on top of the soundhole, gently touching the strings as she was figuring out the chords of the song.

It turned out she was right; the song was quite simple, and it didn't even take her a whole minute before she got all the chords right, and was now playing the song, only in a slower rhythm than the original.

Clarke instinctively started humming the tune, and Lexa looked up, pleasantly surprised to see that not only she had perfect pitch, but her voice sounded very good as well, even without actually singing the words.

Just as her blue eyes met Lexa's, she couldn't help but blush, and stopped humming as she smiled nervously, choosing to look at the floor instead.

"No... Why did you stop? It was so good!" Lexa said quickly.

"I don't know the words..."

"I didn't know you could sing!" Lexa said excitedly. "Here..." She typed something in the computer and turned the screen towards Clarke.

"But it's in Spanish... I can't sing in Spanish..." Clarke said, looking at the lyrics on the screen.

"Just try... I'll help you..." Lexa said softly.

"I don't know..." Clarke hesitated, biting her lip.

"Please? I'd like to hear you sing..." Lexa insisted.

Clarke only needed to take a quick glance at those big, sad puppy eyes, before she nodded and focused on the screen in front of her.

Lexa started playing the chords again and felt goosebumps all over her body when she heard the first verse of the song in Clarke's raspy, yet, at the same time, soft voice.

<https://youtu.be/-CM4bC91uuw>

Surprisingly, she didn't make a lot of mistakes, and managed to get through the chorus before she stopped abruptly, as she started laughing at her own inability to pronounce the last few words.

"Sorry... Honestly, this doesn't even look Spanish to me..." She said, looking at Lexa, who was sure she had drooled a little bit, watching Clarke sing so beautifully.

"Khm..." She cleared her throat. "Yeah, that last part is in Italian, actually..."

"See! I knew there was something strange there!" Clarke smiled.

"Yes, the guy is an Italian rapper, and the girl is a Spanish singer," Lexa added as she left the guitar on the stand before sitting back on the chair.

"Well, that explains it, then..."

"Your Spanish was great, by the way!"

"Oh God no... I was terrible!" Clarke chuckled and covered her face with her hands.

"No, I mean it!" Lexa insisted. "You made just a few tiny mistakes, I promise... But that's completely normal, you had never heard the lyrics before... Honestly, Clarke... If Mr. Santiago could hear you, he would give you an A, believe me..."

Clarke suddenly removed her hands from her face and looked at Lexa, her eyes widening as she came to the realization.

"Oh my God, Lexa! That's it!" She exclaimed.

"What?" The brunette narrowed her eyes.

"This should be our assignment!"

"What?"

"We should do this in class... Sing the song... You could do the rap part and..."

"Nah ah, no way..." Lexa shook her head. "I have never played, let alone sung in public..."

"But it would just be in front of the class... That's not public..." Clarke insisted.

"I don't know, Clarke... I don't think I could do it..."

"Pleaaaase..." The blonde pouted her lips as she knelt in front of Lexa, leaning with her elbows on the latter's knees and touching her palms together, using the same 'sad puppy eyes' technique the brunette had used on her before.

"Ugh... Fine!" Lexa rolled her eyes and didn't even have time to react when Clarke stood up hastily and threw herself at her.

She did it with such force that the chair flipped over, and next thing they knew, they were on the floor, Clarke on top of Lexa, holding onto her shoulders, while the latter's hands were placed on Clarke's lower back.

"Shit! Lexa... Are you okay? I'm so sorry..." Clarke said, seeing that Lexa hadn't said a word since they had touched the ground.

"Yes... I'm okay..." She finally replied, feeling a bit lost in Clarke's big blue eyes. "Are you?"

"I am..." She chuckled. "I'm sorry... I just got really excited..."

"It's fine..." Lexa couldn't help but smile at her as she waited for her to get up first.

Clarke didn't move, though.

Her lips were smiling, but her eyes seemed to be concentrated on something on Lexa's face.

"What?" Lexa asked, feeling a bit nervous, fully aware of Clarke's breasts pressed against her chest.

"Your eyes... I've never seen anything like it..."

"What do you mean?"

"The color changes all the time... I mean, it's always green, but there are so many different shades, depending on what you're feeling..." Clarke explained. "Like, when we won the game, they were like... Emerald green... It's the same color when you're laughing... But when you're thinking about something or when you're really concentrated, they're a slightly darker shade, like... Pine green... And right now... They're dark green... And your pupils are almost overshadowing it..."

Lexa swallowed hard.

It looked like Clarke had no intention of getting up.

And why was she analyzing the color of her eyes? While on top of her?

They had known each other for a month... When did she have time to observe all this?

"There it is! It changed again... They're pine green now!" Clarke's smile widened. "What were you thinking?"

"Nothing..." Lexa said and licked her lips as she tried to look away.

It didn't last long; when she looked back at the blonde, she noticed that her eyes were now focused on her lips.

Instinctively, she started biting them nervously, and then, finally, she caught Clarke's gaze again, only this time there was barely any trace of the blue; her pupils were almost fully dilated, and she kept glancing at her lips and back at her eyes.

Clarke nearly jumped off of her, when they heard the sound of an incoming call on Skype, resonating from Lexa's laptop.

They quickly got up from the floor, and, sure enough, Costia's name and profile picture were displayed on the screen.

Lexa fixed her hair in a rush, and looked at Clarke, unsure of what to do next.

"Go ahead... I have to go home anyway..." Clarke said as she picked up the chair from the floor, and before Lexa could say anything, she was on her way out of the room. "See you Monday!"

She waved at her as she opened the door, and Lexa could only wave back before Clarke left the room, closing the door behind her.

* * *

As soon as Clarke arrived home, she realized that her parents still hadn't come back, and that she had just left the Woods' house without saying goodbye.

She didn't know why; she just knew she had to get out of there.

Being around Lexa could sometimes be very confusing for her; one moment she wanted to be incredibly close to her, and the next, she couldn't get far enough from her.

Just five minutes ago, she had experienced both extremes, one immediately after the other, and there she was now, lying on her bed and wondering what the hell was going on with her.

Suddenly, she knew exactly what she needed to do.

She needed to stop thinking.

Yes, that was it.

She grabbed her phone and opened the chat with Finn.

**Text message:**

_Clarke (2:36 pm):_  
Hey... Wanna hang out?

_Finn (2:37 pm):_  
Hey, gorgeous... Rn?

_Clarke (2:37 pm):_  
Yes.

_Finn (2:37 pm):_  
I'll pick you up in 15.

_Clarke (2:37 pm):_  
K.

She left the phone on the bed and went to the bathroom to take a quick shower.

All she needed was to stop thinking.

Spending the afternoon with Finn and a good make out session should do the trick.

Right?

* * *

Lexa had spent the next three hours skyping with Costia, until the latter went to bed; after all, it was almost 1 am in Madrid when they stopped talking.

They hadn't talked a lot during the week, so they had quite some catching up to do.

The only thing Lexa "forgot" to mention was the awkward moment with Clarke in her room.

Why would she?

Nothing happened.

Right?

She turned off her computer and just as she stood up to stretch her body, she noticed Clarke's sports bag on the floor, next to the bed.

She smiled, remembering that she had let her use her room to change into her bathing suit before lunch.

And then she remembered how good she looked in that bathing suit.

She quickly shook her head, almost as if she were trying to kick that image out of her mind and picked up the bag from the floor.

On her way out, she saw her parents in the living room; Becca was reading a book and Gustus seemed to be enjoying a late siesta on the couch.

She waved at her mother and whispered that she would be right back as she showed her the bag, upon which Becca immediately connected the dots and simply waved back at her daughter with a smile on her face.

Lexa walked out of the house, determined to go over to Clarke's and return her bag.

As she approached the front yard, she recognized Finn's car parked by the sidewalk.

_"Is he inside the house?"_ She wondered.

Just a few moments later, she got her answer when she passed the car, noticing the blonde on the front passenger's seat and Finn practically glued to her, with his tongue down her throat.

She tripped as she witnessed the scene, and the bag slipped from her hand, falling to the ground.

The sound got the couple's attention, and Lexa's eyes met Clarke's as the former was picking up the bag from the floor.

Clarke hurried to say goodbye to Finn before she opened the front passenger's door and got out if the car.

Finn waved awkwardly at Lexa and drove off, leaving them alone.

"Hey..." Clarke was the first to speak.

There was still some awkwardness between them, and seeing Lexa right after kissing Finn didn't help either.

"You forgot your bag..." Lexa said as she stretched her arm, giving her the bag.

Clarke took it and smiled softly.

"Thanks..." She paused, unsure of what she should say next. "How's Costia?"

"Great," Lexa was quick to reply. "Well, she's asleep now..."

"Right... Different time zones..." Clarke nodded.

"Yeah..." Lexa gave her a tense smile. "Um... I should go..." She added, scratching the back of her neck. "I'll see you Monday..."

"Sure, yeah... Bye!"

They waved at each other before they turned around and started walking in opposite directions.

Clarke went straight to her room, avoiding her parents in the living room, and threw herself on the bed, burying her face in the pillow.

Her phone vibrated in her back pocket and she hurried to take it out, thinking it could be from...

Nope. It was a text message from Finn.

**Text message:**

_Finn (5:57 pm):_  
Best handjob ever! You're a natural, babe! 😉😘

She left the message on 'seen' and buried her face in the pillow again.


	14. Turmoil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick reminder: Before you direct any insulting or demeaning labels at Clarke (or at any other character in this fic), please keep in mind that this is a story about a teenage girl who's coming to terms with her sexuality. Let's not forget that teenagers, in general, experience a good amount of healthy curiosity, and sometimes the peer pressure can also push them into an act of intimacy with their significant others. Does that make them promiscuous? No. It makes them young people with healthy, sexual appetite.  
> Also, I wanted to point out that Clarke did NOT lose her virginity to Finn, in case it wasn't clear in the previous chapter. As I mentioned in one of the comments, the point of this fic is NOT who sleeps with whom. This fic is about self-discovery, young love, confusion, hormonse... and yes, it is also about exploring sex for the first time, but it is also about so much more.  
> So, please, if you could, focus on that and on the reason behind Clarke's actions. We all know my stories are 100% Clexa endgame, and I believe we all know where this fic is headed.  
> My only wish is for you to enjoy the ride there with me. Thank you.

On Sunday morning the day dawned clear. The temperature was quite pleasant, even when October was so close.

Lexa was on the bed, awake, staring at the ceiling and feeling rather bored. In Spain, she would have taken the opportunity to skate, but there, in Houston, she did not feel so determined.

She had sent several messages to Costia, wishing her good morning, although in Spain it would have been around five o’clock in the afternoon, but she had not yet responded to her messages. She assumed that her girlfriend was probably spending the day with her family, so she got up and tidied up her room.

She put away some clean T-shirts in the closet, which Becca had left on her desk, and, doing so, inadvertently struck the guitar placed on the stand.

Suddenly, the image of Clarke, standing there in her room and touching the guitar, came to her mind.

She thought about sending her a message; maybe she was feeling just as bored, but then, another image of the blonde, making out with her boyfriend in his car, made her dismiss the idea.

_“She's probably hanging out with Finn,”_ she convinced herself, slightly disappointed, as she sat on the chair.

Soon, the sound of an incoming message interrupted her thoughts, pulling her out of her boredom.

**Text message**

_Costia (10:15 am):_  
Hi babe, I was having lunch with my parents and some of their friends 😒 What’s up?

Lexa quickly typed her answer.

_Lexa (10:15 am):_  
Skype? 😀

A few minutes later, she received a reply.

_Costia (10:17 am):_  
Maybe later? I'm meeting Amaia.

_Lexa (10:17 am):_  
Okay.

Costia wrote back quickly this time; Perhaps because Lexa’s reply sounded too curt.

_Costia (10:17 am):_  
I promise I’ll call you as soon as I can ... Amaia is going through a rough time and she needs a friend right now.

_Lexa (10:18 am):_  
Why? What happened?

Lexa’s interest was piqued, even though she was still not a fan of her girlfriend spending so much time with that girl.

_Costia (10:18 am):_  
Her girlfriend broke up with her.

_Lexa (10:19 am):_  
Oh… that sucks 😕

_Costia (10:20 am):_  
Yeah... It happened out of the blue and it really threw her off.

_Lexa (10:21 am):_  
Do you know why she broke it off?

_Costia (10:22 am):_  
I don't have all the details yet, I guess she’ll tell me now… you don't mind, right?

_Lexa (10:22 am):_  
Of course not.

_Costia (10:23 am):_  
Thanks, sweetie! 🙏🏻You’re the best 😊 I'll text you later… Enjoy your Sunday 😘

_Lexa (10:23 am):_  
You too 😘

Lexa put the phone down on the desk and leaned back in her chair, letting out a long sigh. On one hand, it frustrated her that Costia was hanging out with Amaia so often and it made her feel insecure, but on the other hand, she wanted to believe that Amaia meant to Costia the same as Clarke meant to her. And Lexa didn't doubt that, if Clarke were going through something similar, she would be there for her.

Because that's what friends do, right?

However, she was left with no immediate plans to occupy her time.

She checked her social media until around 11:30 am, when she didn’t feel like staring at the screen anymore. She got up from the chair and stretched out, facing the window, through which she could see Clarke's backyard.

She thought she saw a moving silhouette near the pool and automatically thought of the blonde; instead, she noticed the youngest of the Griffin sisters preparing to leave home with a backpack and her skateboard in her hand.

Lexa narrowed her eyes as a thought formed in her head, and she hurried down the stairs to the ground floor.

Becca was in the kitchen, adding the chickpeas to a large pot.

“Mom, I'll go out for a bit.”

“May I know where?” she asked, barely making eye contact with Lexa as she poured water into the pot.

“Skating... I think there's a skate park not far from here ...” she answered, opening the access door to the garage.

“Okay, honey… be careful! By the way, I forgot to soak the chickpeas… So, lunch will be a little later today!”

By the time she shouted the last part, Lexa had already disappeared.

The brunette grabbed the penny board and left the garage just as Madi was stepping out of the front yard. She set it down and slid down the paved part of the garden to the sidewalk.

“Hey, Lexa!” Madi called out to her as she approached her.

“Hello,” Lexa said, stopping her board.

“Are you going to skate?” Madi asked with a big smile on her lips.

“Yeah… you?” she replied, pointing to the skateboard that Madi was holding in her hand, leaned on her hip.

“Yes, I’m meeting Luca at the skate park… wanna tag along?”

“Uh ...”

“Come on, it’ll be fun… You’ll love the park.”

“Cool ...”

Madi smiled and gestured for the brunette to follow her. Lexa grabbed the board and walked down Cobblestone Drive with her.

* * *

Clarke woke up that Sunday morning in a foul mood. It didn't help that her mother was expressing her displeasure during breakfast because she had hoped that Clarke’s date for the dance would be any other boy but Finn.

“Why don't you go with Wells?” protested Abby. “I would feel more comfortable knowing that ...”

“Ughhh mom!” Clarke cut her off, rolling her eyes. “First of all, Wells never asked me and second ...” she stopped herself in time before she would reveal that their friendship was going through a rough patch.

The last thing she needed now was for her mother to question her on that other topic as well.

“Honey, don't be so hard on her ... It's just a dance and not a marriage proposal,” Jake intervened, helping his daughter out. “Come on, we'll be late,” he added, grabbing a toast on his way out of the kitchen.

“Thanks, Dad…” Clarke whispered, lazily stirring the oatmeal.

Abby stared at them for a long second, deciding to back off; at least for the time being.

“We'll be back late afternoon… There's food in the fridge,” Abby informed her as she followed her husband to the front door. “And don't let your sister sleep in.”

Clarke returned to her room after breakfast, completely ignoring her mother's request. She had the whole day ahead of her, but she didn't feel like doing anything. She still hadn't responded to Finn's message and, at the moment, it wasn't something that was in her immediate plans.

She kept thinking about that awkward moment with Lexa the previous day and how she had felt lying on top of her, analyzing the color of her eyes and losing herself between them and her lips. And then she thought of that intimate act with Finn later that day, which had been fine, although it hadn’t managed to push that other invading thought out of her mind.

It had only managed to create more unanswered questions in her head.

Why was she feeling so confused and restless?

“Hey, sis… mom and dad aren't home?” Madi peeked from the door.

Clarke’s heart started racing as she got up from the bed, startled.

“How about knocking first?” she protested, catching her breath.

“But… the door was open ...” Madi answered, raising her eyebrows.

“They went out with the Blakes.”

“Perfect,” she expressed with a triumphant look on her face as she quickly typed a text message on her phone.

“Going out?” Clarke asked.

“Yes, Luca’s going to the skate park, but I didn't know if Mom and Dad had any plans for us today ... when will they be back?”

“Late afternoon… But don't get too excited, they could come back earlier.”

Madi shrugged.

“That’s good enough ... You’re staying home?”

“Yeah…” Clarke nodded.

“Well, you have the house to yourself… you might as well invite your “boyfriend” for another make out session,” Madi said playfully with special emphasis on the word “boyfriend”.

Every muscle in Clarke's face tightened into a grimace.

_“Had Madi seen them too?”_

“No,” Clarke replied dryly.

Madi narrowed her eyes, perceiving the strange aura around her sister.

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to.”

“Did you have a fight?”

“No.”

“So... why not, then?”

“I just don't feel like it, Madi!” Clarke snorted.

“Okay, okay, understood…” Madi raised her hands up in surrender, giving her sister the space she seemed to be in need of that morning. “I'll be back for lunch… I hope you’ll be in a better mood by then ...”

Madi quickly left the room, leaving Clarke with the protest in her mouth, and went down to the kitchen to have some breakfast before running off to the skate park.

Once she was alone again, the blonde wondered if her bad mood was obvious to everyone, and more importantly, it frustrated her that she couldn’t figure out the source of it.

* * *

“Your parents are not home?” Lexa asked on the way to the park, noticing that Madi had left without hiding the skateboard.

Although, what she really wanted to ask was whether Clarke was home.

“No, they went out with the Blakes,” Madi replied. “My mother would rather die than miss an opportunity to be seen with the mayor and his wife…” she added, rolling her eyes.

“The Blakes?” Lexa frowned. “As in, Octavia and Bellamy's parents?”

“Yeah ...”

It took a few seconds before Lexa dared to continue the inquiry.

“Un… And your ...”

“My sister?” Madi hurried.

The brunette nodded, trying to hide the slight blush on her cheeks.

“She stayed at home ... she seems to be in a terrible mood today.”

“Oh… Is, um… Is there something wrong?”

“Dunno,” Madi shrugged. “She wouldn’t say… Anyway… Ready to ride?” she asked as she put the skateboard on the ground and place her foot on it.

“Let’s go,” Lexa smiled at her, although, in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but wonder about the reason behind Clarke’s bad mood.

It took them about half an hour to reach the Gulfton skatepark, located in Burnett Bayland Park; it was concrete skatepark with a fun-looking enclosed bowl and a street plaza style area, as well as some other elements such as quarter pipe ramps and flatrails to do all kinds of tricks.

Lexa felt quite comfortable with Madi and her friends, even though most of them were freshmen or younger.

It didn’t take long for everyone to notice her abilities, although she wasn’t trying to show off; Lexa simply let himself be carried away, enjoying the sound, the air and the feeling of the wheels of her board against the concrete, without thinking about anything else, until it was time to go home.

Two hours later, she said goodbye Madi and her friends, agreeing to repeat the experience another day.

* * *

It was Monday afternoon, and the basketball practice was coming to an end when Lexa approached Clarke, as they were doing the final stretches.

They had not seen each other during the morning, but Lexa's first impression, upon seeing the blonde on the court, was that Madi had been right; Clarke definitely did not seem to be in a good mood. She seemed restless and a bit distant, as if something were worrying her.

“That was… intense,” Lexa broke the ice, sitting on the floor next to Clarke.

“Yeah…” she gave her a smile. “The game this Saturday… it’s going to be a tough one.”

“Nothing we can’t handle,” Lexa winked at her.

Clarke gave her another smile as she continued with her stretching routine.

After showering, Lexa decided to wait for her in front of the entrance of the school, since the blonde seemed to be taking her time getting ready.

After showering, Lexa left the locker room, seeing that her neighbor seemed to be needing extra time to get ready, and decided to wait for her in front of the school entrance to walk home together, as was customary between them.

She distracted herself with her cell phone, but when Clarke walked out the front door, Lexa's eyes were immediately drawn to her.

Clarke was wearing a sheer, loose-fitting beige chiffon blouse, combined with light ripped skinny jeans and beige low top converse shoes. Her hair was still a bit wet and wavy, pulled up in a messy bun.

Even before she was anywhere near her, Lexa could already smell the familiar vanilla scent, emanating from her skin.

“Lexa… um…” Clarke met her eyes, seeming surprised to see her there.

“Hey… It was too hot and steamy in the locker room, so I decided to wait for you here…” Lexa felt the need to explain, perceiving the confusion on Clarke’s face.

“Oh, I… um…”

“Hey, princess…” Lexa suddenly heard Finn’s voice behind her. “Ready to go?”

He quickly walked over to Clarke and put an arm around her shoulders as he leaned to give her a kiss on the cheek.

“Damn, you look hot…” he said with a smirk on his face, ogling her body.

Clarke smiled awkwardly and quickly glanced at Lexa who was now standing with her shoulders slightly forward and her head tilted downwards.

“Lexa, I… Sorry, I forgot to tell you I’m not going home yet…” she said, finally meeting those big, green eyes as the brunette looked up. “We’re going to the mall… um… you could join us, if you’d like…”

“Oh… no problem…” Lexa managed a tense smile. “Thanks, but um… I should get going… Costia is waiting for me on Skype…” she said as she took the penny board out of her backpack.

“Right…” Clarke nodded, suddenly feeling less excited about going to Starbucks with Finn.

“Shall we?” Finn asked.

“Yeah… I’ll see you tomorrow,” Clarke said, looking at Lexa, who was now putting the earphones into her ears.

“Have fun!” Lexa smiled at them before she rode off.

Clarke watched Lexa move skillfully across the parking lot while Finn was guiding her to his car, with his hand resting on her lower back.

“Who’s Costia?” he asked, getting her attention.

“What?” Clarke wasn’t sure she had heard right.

“Lexa said she was going to skype with someone named Costia?”

“Oh… yes… She’s her… um… her friend from Spain,” Clarke opted not to reveal that Costia was in fact Lexa’s girlfriend.

She wasn’t sure if people at school knew that Lexa was gay, but she figured it was not her place to share that information with anyone.

“Cool,” Finn said casually as he opened the front passenger door for Clarke.

* * *

When Clarke arrived home about an hour later, she went directly to her room and threw her backpack on the ground. She walked to the window and looked in the direction of Lexa’s house.

Lexa’s window was open, but she couldn’t see her. Now that she had been in her room, she could picture her there, sitting at her desk and skyping with Costia.

Or maybe she was lying on the bed and they were having cybersex, as Raven had suggested in more than one occasion?

Wait… why was she thinking about that at all?

“Hey…” Madi’s voice startled her.

“Jesus, Madi!” she exclaimed, placing a hand on her chest.

“What were you doing?” Madi narrowed her eyes. “Spying on the neighbors?”

“What? No!” Clarke was quick to deny, moving away from the window.

“Speaking of neighbors… Lexa’s pretty cool!” Madi continued as she sat on her sister’s bed. “And she can skate… she’s, like, really good… I was impressed!”

“Huh?” Clarke frowned. “Where did you see her skate?”

“We went to the skate park yesterday… didn’t she tell you?”

“No… uh… I didn’t see her a lot today.”

“Didn’t you have practice together?”

“Yes, but we didn’t talk…” Clarke replied, sounding annoyed.

“Ufff… I see your mood hasn’t changed…” Madi raised her eyebrows and stood up, waving at Clarke as she walked out of the room.

Clarke sighed.

She didn’t mean to be rude to her little sister, but for some reason, she felt annoyed at the mention of Lexa.

Clarke didn’t mind them hanging out together; in fact, she was glad that Madi seemed to like Lexa, and by the looks of it, the feeling was mutual.

However, she would’ve preferred if Lexa had told her about it. After all, they were friends, and friends tell each other everything, right?

But then again, she was the one who made plans with Finn after practice and didn’t even bother to tell Lexa not to wait for her.

_“Oh my God… what if she’s mad at me?”_ she thought, suddenly feeling worried.

She quickly grabbed her phone and unlocked the screen.

_“I’ll text her… if she replies, then she’s not mad at me…”_ she thought, nodding at herself as she started typing.

**Text message**

Clarke (5:38 pm):  
“Hey 😊”

She lay on the bed and waited for the reply.

Fortunately, Lexa didn’t take long to text her back.

Lexa (5:39 pm):  
“Hey 😊”

Clarke (5:39 pm):  
“What’s up?”

Lexa (5:39 pm):  
“Nothing much… You?”

Clarke (5:39 pm):  
“Not talking to Costia?”

Lexa (5:39 pm):  
“Nope… she cancelled… Are you still at the mall?”

Clarke (5:40 pm):  
“No, I’m home… Are you in your room?”

Lexa (5:40 pm):  
“Yes… Why?”

Clarke (5:40 pm):  
“I looked out the window and didn’t see you.”

Lexa (5:40 pm):  
“I’m lying on the bed 😉 Spying much? 😜”

Clarke chuckled, amused by Lexa’s playfulness.

Clarke (5:40 pm):  
“Welcome to America 😁 You’re free then?”

Lexa (5:41 pm):  
“Thanks 😛 Free and bored, yup.”

Clarke (5:41 pm):  
“Wanna work on the song?”

Lexa (5:41 pm):  
“Sure! My place?”

Clarke (5:41 pm):  
“Your parents won’t mind?”

Lexa (5:41 pm):  
“Not at all 😊”

Clarke (5:42 pm):  
“Cool… I’ll be right there.”

Lexa (5:42 pm):  
“See you soon!”

Clarke almost ran down the stairs, her mood suddenly switching to a lighter one as she walked towards Lexa’s house with a beaming smile on her face.

* * *

The following days, Clarke and Lexa met at the latter’s house to continue practicing the song for their Spanish assignment, and the blonde was happy to see that things were back to normal. She still didn’t have an explanation for the mood swings she had experienced recently but was glad that, whatever it was, she seemed to be over it.

Wells was the only person who could have helped her figure it out, but he was still actively avoiding her, saying that he was too busy organizing the activities for the school’s spirit week, since he was a member of the Homecoming committee. It wasn’t that she couldn’t talk to Raven or Octavia about it, but Wells had always had a way of helping her come to her own realizations, even if she had barely said a word to him about whatever the issue was at the moment.

Guess that wasn’t an option now.

On Thursday morning, Clarke was standing in front of the entrance of the school, chatting with Finn, when she noticed Lexa arrive on her penny board, carrying a guitar case on her shoulders.

Before she had time to take in the sight in front of her, she heard Roan’s annoying voice behind her.

“Damn… looks like the new chick has some talented fingers…” he said, ogling Lexa like a predator and receiving chuckles from some of the jocks, Finn included. “Would love to see them wrapped around my…”

“Shut your mouth!” Clarke raised her voice, turning around to face Roan. “You’re disgusting!”

“Hey, Clarke…” Finn intervened. “He was just joking, babe…” he said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

“Finny boy, you gotta learn how to control your bitch,” Roan said, raising his eyebrow, completely ignoring Clarke.

“What did you just say?” the blonde took another step towards him, but was stopped by Finn, holding her back.

“Clarke, come on…” he tried to plead with her, hoping she wouldn’t make a scene.

“Let go off me!” she pushed Finn away, glancing one last time at him with anger and disappointment in her eyes before she walked inside the school.

Lexa witnessed the last part as she was walking towards the entrance and quickly followed Clarke inside, assuming she had just had a fight with Finn. She saw her disappear behind the bathroom door and decided to follow her to make sure she was alright.

When she opened the door, she saw Clarke leaning with her hands on the ceramic sink, her head tilted down.

“Hey… you okay?” Lexa approached her carefully.

Clarke looked at her, surprised to see her there, but she didn’t seem to mind. On the contrary, the anger left her eyes the moment she met Lexa’s kind, green ones.

“I am now…” she smiled at the brunette, feeling a sudden urge to hug her.

“You sure?” Lexa needed to make sure but didn’t move closer.

“Uh huh,” Clarke nodded. “Just a bit nervous about the assignment…”

“You’re going to do great!” Lexa gave her an assuring smile. “You know the lyrics and your voice is amazing!”

“Thank you…” Clarke couldn’t help but blush. “How come you’re so calm? I thought you were terrified of performing in public?”

“It’s just our Spanish class… That’s not public… right?” she winked at her, trying to look as confident as possible.

“Right,” Clarke grinned, founding her more adorable than ever. “Shall we?” she asked, tilting her head towards the door.

“After you,” Lexa grabbed the door handle and opened the door for Clarke.

“Thank you,” Clarke’s smile widened as she walked out of the bathroom, feeling confident about their performance.

Everything was going to be okay, as long as she had Lexa by her side.

* * *

“Wow, Clarke!” Raven exclaimed as she approached the blonde, who was already seated next to Octavia at their usual table in the school cafeteria.

The Latina was holding her phone in her hand, looking at the screen as she sat across them.

“What?” Clarke frowned, wondering what her friend was referring to.

“You and Lexa!” Raven said as she put the phone on the table, closer to Clarke and Octavia.

It was a video of Lexa and Clarke, singing the song in class.

“This is amazing!” the Latina said excitedly as she pressed play in the middle of the video.

Octavia’s jaw dropped when she heard Clarke’s voice, accompanied by Lexa playing the guitar, as well as singing the backup vocals in some parts of the chorus.

“Where did you get this?” Clarke asked, seeming shocked.

“Monty posted it on the school’s Facebook page,” Raven replied quickly, her eyes still glued to the screen.

“Oh my God, Clarke! You’re so good! Both of you!” Octavia nearly screamed.

“Shhh… turn it off, Ray!” Clarke said quietly, seeing that they were starting to draw attention to themselves. “Lexa’s going to freak out…”

“What?” Raven frowned as she stopped the video. “Why?”

“She hates performing in public… I managed to convince her to do this with me, promising it will be only in class… and now it’s on Facebook…” Clarke said, leaning with her forehead on the palms of her hands.

“Well, she looks pretty comfortable to me…” Raven shrugged. “Looking at you and smiling, and all…”

“Yeah, it looks like she was enjoying it, Clarke…” Octavia agreed.

“That’s because she thought it was a one-time thing, just something we did in class… and now everyone’s going to see it…”

“Hey, Lexa!” Raven waved, noticing the brunette standing near the trayline.

Clarke quickly turned her head around and saw Lexa waving back, holding the tray with food in her other hand, and started walking towards them, accompanied by Gaia.

“Hey,” she greeted them with a smile as they approached the table.

“I’m so sorry, Lexa…” Clarke hurried. “I had no idea Monty was filming it…”

“Well, I’m glad he did!” Raven intervened before Lexa could speak. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t have known how good you were! Any other hidden talents, Woods?” she added with a grin on her face.

“Um… thanks, Raven…” Lexa replied, still standing by the table. “And no… nothing else,” she smiled timidly.

“Now, that’s a lie…” Gaia joined the conversation. “Lexa also happens to be an excellent writer!”

Clarke’s body suddenly tensed.

Had Lexa shown some of her work to Gaia? Didn’t Lexa say she didn’t like showing it to anyone?

Clarke had thought that she was the only one who knew about the story that Lexa had been working on, and it had made her feel special, creating a unique bond between them, since she had let her see some of her drawings as well.

Maybe Lexa didn’t think she was that special after all.

“Nah, I wouldn’t say…” Lexa started speaking.

“Join us, girls!” Octavia interrupted her.

“Thanks, but I’m meeting the Homecoming committee,” Gaia declined politely as Lexa sat next to Raven. “I just came to say something…” she said before she turned to Clarke. “You have an amazing voice!”

“Oh…” Clarke couldn’t hide her surprise. “Thanks…”

Had Gaia come just to… give her a compliment?

“You two were excellent!” Gaia continued, glancing at Lexa and then at Clarke. “So, I was thinking about this year’s money raising… We did good in sophomore year, but I think this year we can actually win… If… you and Lexa agree to perform again…” she said, looking at Clarke.

Clarke instinctively looked at Lexa and noticed that she looked calm, smiling softly at her.

“Perform… where?” Clarke asked, looking up again, finding Gaia russet eyes.

“You know that Lincoln’s dad agreed to let us use the terrace of his bar for the event on Sunday, right?” she asked and saw Clarke nod at her. “We’ll charge an entrance fee and accept donations, tips… Monty and Jasper have agreed to do a DJ set, the cheer squad is going to do some stunts, Murphy is going to do standup comedy, and we have a few more acts lined up… Between the car wash in the morning and the event in the afternoon, I actually think we can win this…”

“Definitely,” Octavia agreed. “My dad promised he’ll make all of his politician friends bring their cars to our car wash… they’ll leave generous tips at the event as well!”

“That’s great!” Gaia smiled at her before she turned her attention back to Clarke. “So… what do you say?”

“Well, it’s not really my decision…” Clarke said and looked at Lexa.

“But…” Gaia frowned. “Lexa said it was up to you, and that she would do whatever you wanted…”

“You said that?” Clarke raised her eyebrows, her lips curling into a subtle smile.

“I did,” Lexa smiled at her. “Sorry for putting you on the spot like that…”

“No, no… I just thought… I mean, I figured you wouldn’t want to do it again… especially now that it’s on Facebook…”

“Nah, the video doesn’t bother me, really…” Lexa shrugged. “I wouldn’t get on the stage alone, that’s for sure… But, um… I wouldn’t mind doing it with you…” she added, feeling the heat cropping up on her cheeks.

Clarke couldn’t believe her ears.

Lexa wanted to perform with her again. In public, no less.

And she was being considerate enough to leave the decision up to her, even though she knew Clarke would be up for it.

“I wouldn’t mind it either,” the blonde replied with a beaming smile on her face, lost in the emerald green eyes staring back at her.

“Awesome! Thanks!” Gaia exclaimed, popping the bubble they seemed to be in. “That’s settled, then… I’ll send you guys an email with the details, and we should meet on Saturday to do a rehearsal…”

“But we have the game on Saturday,” Clarke said, turning her head to look at her.

“I know, but some of our classmates will start setting some stuff up in the morning, so we’ll just join them after the game, no biggie…” Gaia explained.

“Can’t wait to hear you guys perform live!” Raven said, clapping her hands excitedly.

“Me too!” Octavia agreed.

“Alright, gotta go… See ya!” Gaia waved at them before she rushed out of the cafeteria, already late for her meeting with the rest of members of the Homecoming committee.

“Hey, O… I was thinking, we should do this one on Sunday…” Raven said, showing her friend a video of some of their cheerleading routines on her phone.

Clarke took advantage of the moment to make sure Lexa did not feel pressured into accepting to perform with her again.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” she asked her quietly.

“I am…” Lexa smiled at her. “I really liked performing with you today…”

“Me too…”

They smiled at each other as they continued enjoying their lunch break, looking forward to the new adventure they would embark on together.


	15. Couple Goals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!  
> Hope you'll like the chapter! ;)
> 
> Also... I'm probably the last person on Earth who doesn't have a Twitter account... Should I make one? What do you think?

Clarke was opening her locker when she noticed Finn coming down the hall.

She seemed determined not to acknowledge his presence and just as he stood next to her, she proceeded to take the book she needed for class from inside the locker, consciously placing the door between them.

“Hey, princess…” Finn said softly, sticking his head out.

However, the blonde closed the locker decisively, drawing the attention of several students in their proximity, willing to continue ignoring him.

Finn insisted.

“Come on, Clarke... You haven't texted me back and you have been ignoring me since yesterday morning...” he stated the obvious. “You're not going to talk to me?”

“Are you still friends with Roan?” Clarke finally spoke, as she closed the locker, and looked at Finn, raising her eyebrows.

“Um... babe... Come on...” he took a step closer, placing his hand on her shoulder.

“Wrong answer,” Clarke stood her ground, pushing Finn's hand away, before she started walking in the direction of her Math class, leaving him in the middle of the hallway, looking dumbfounded.

When she arrived, she quickly spotted Lexa in the back of the class, listening to something that Gaia was telling her. Lexa had already taken her seat, whereas the dark-skinned girl was sitting on top of the desk, slightly leaning towards her.

Clarke decided to approach them, since she needed to pass near them to get to her seat.

Well, that wasn't entirely true; she could have easily taken a different route, but decided to interrupt their conversation instead.

“Hey...” she greeted them as she stood next to Gaia.

“Oh... Hey, Clarke!” Gaia looked at her with a genuine smile on her lips. “I was just telling Lexa the plan...”

Clarke frowned and glanced at Lexa.

“About the trip to Galveston and the rehearsal tomorrow...” the brunette clarified quickly, knowing that Clarke had no idea what plan Gaia was referring to.

“Oh, right... Yes... Do tell!” Clarke stood closer to Gaia, which made the girl lean slightly back and away from Lexa.

“Khm...” she cleared her throat, seeming a bit tense. “Well, my mom said we're leaving tonight at 7 pm... The minibus will be waiting for us in front of the school... So, I thought, I should leave my car in the parking lot here, so, that way, when we come back tomorrow, the three of us can go directly to The Ark for the rehearsal from here...”

“Cool... That's a good plan, actually...” Clarke said and saw Gaia's smile grow bigger. “Lexa?” she added as she looked at her neighbor.

“Agree...” Lexa nodded. “There's just one tiny problem... My guitar... We'd have to go back to my place tomorrow to get it...”

“Or you could leave in the trunk of my car today?” Gaia suggested.

“Hm...” Lexa winced. “I don't know...”

“Why don't you take it with you? To Galveston?” Clarke said. “That way we can practice the new song at the hotel tonight...”

“Yeah!” Gaia exclaimed excitedly. “And you can play on the bus too!”

“I guess I could bring it with me,” Lexa smiled. “Is it a long ride?”

“About an hour and a half,” Clarke replied and turned her head to face Gaia. “So, that's settled then... Thanks, Gaia!” she smiled at her as she rubbed her hand gently on her classmate's upper arm.

“Uh... Yeah... Sure…” Gaia gave her a somewhat tense smile and practically jumped off the desk before she went to her seat.

Lexa narrowed her eyes; was it just her or Gaia was acting a bit strange? She was perfectly fine five minutes ago, though...

“So...” the blonde's raspy voice interrupted her thoughts. “Wanna catch a ride with Octavia and Raven after school? We could use the extra time to pack and get ready for the trip...”

“Sure, yeah...” Lexa accepted the offer.

“Cool,” Clarke's smile widened. “I'll see you later...”

She turned on her heels, and her perfectly shaped buttocks came in the line of sight of Lexa, who was sitting on the chair. Her eyes were involuntarily drawn to that alluring part of the blonde's anatomy, making it impossible not to follow her with her gaze all the way to her seat.

The moment she became aware of her actions, she looked away and shook her head, feeling the heat spread from her chest to her cheeks, giving herself a reprehension in her head for letting her eyes stray.

Clarke was her friend.  
Okay, her very attractive friend.  
Her very attractive STRAIGHT friend who would probably feel extremely uncomfortable around her if she caught her ogling her figure.

Of course, it didn't mean anything, even though those skinny jeans made her butt look delicious AF, but still... Lexa always tried extra hard around her female friends, careful not to put them in an awkward situation where they would wonder if she had been checking them out.

So far, she hadn't had a problem with that, not even in the locker room; _especially_ not in the locker room, because there, she never even glanced at her teammates when they were changing their clothes. She didn't hide her sexual orientation from the team, but she was aware that even a normal glance at someone in the locker room, in her case, could be perceived (wrongfully) as something more than that.

Maybe it was all in her head, but she preferred to be careful in those situations, rather than being accused of something she would never do.

Just because she was gay, it didn't mean she was a sexual maniac, drooling at the sight of her naked teammates.

And she most certainly didn't want Clarke to think that she was checking her out.

Because she wasn't.

Clarke just happened to be in her line of sight, and she couldn't help but notice how good those jeans looked on her.

Yeah, let's go with that.

* * *

“Alright, girls...” Indra spoke after gathering the team in the hotel lobby. “Here are the keys... Two triple rooms and two double rooms,” she added, holding the hotel key cards in her hands. “I'll leave the sleeping arrangements to you, feel free to get room service if you're hungry, and don't stay up too late! Don't forget that I will be on the same floor, keeping an eye on you... No one is allowed to leave the hotel tonight, is that understood?” she said with a serious look on her face.

“Yes, coach!” the team replied in unison.

“Good... here...”

As soon as Indra handed over the key cards to her daughter, Clarke didn't waste any time to approach her.

“Hey, Gaia... could I have one of the double rooms, please?” she asked the dark-skinned girl. “I was thinking Lexa and I could use the privacy to work on the songs for tomorrow...”

“Oh ... sure, yes ... no problem,” Gaia smiled at her before looking down at the hotel key cards in her hands. “Here, this one’s a double...” she said as she handed her the white card with the number 207 printed on it.

“Awesome! Thanks!” Clarke grinned as she grabbed the card and almost ran towards Lexa, flashing it in front of her face once she stood near her. “I got us a doble room!” she said excitedly. “I figured you wouldn't mind sharing it with me, since we've already slept together...”

The moment the words left her mouth, she could feel her cheeks starting to burn.

Lexa was looking at her with her mouth slightly open and her eyebrows raised, and Clarke hoped she hadn't noticed the curious glances from some of their teammates.

“Uh... That came out wrong…” Clarke chuckled nervously. “I meant... well, because... Um... At the party, you stayed over...” she started rambling.

“Yes,” Lexa gave her a soft smile, and Clarke felt she could breathe again. “I know what you meant...”

“Khm...” Clarke cleared her throat. “You don't have to, though... I shouldn't have just assumed... Um... Maybe you wanted to stay with Gaia or...”

“No,” Lexa was quick to reply. “I mean, I'd like to stay with you, thank you... Just maybe try not to snore so much this time...” she added, a smug cropping up on her face.

“What?? I don't snore!” Clarke protested.

Lexa couldn't hold back the laughter, finding Clarke's pouting absolutely adorable.

“So not funny,” Clarke couldn't help but laugh as well as she shoved Lexa's shoulder playfully. “So... wanna work on the songs a little bit?”

“Lead the way,” Lexa gave the blonde a big smile as they walked towards the elevator.

* * *

_🎶_ _'Cause' you've come so far now_  
 _I wonder if you let your guard down_  
 _What would we find?_ _🎶_

“That was really good, Clarke...” Lexa said after playing the last chords of the song. “Your voice is just... amazing!” she added, noticing how Clarke's cheeks picked up a reddish color.

“Thanks...” the blonde smiled timidly. “And you played it wonderfully... You're so good with your fingers!” she said without thinking, and now it was Lexa's turn to blush.

“Thanks...” she replied, ignoring the embarrassment that had spread across Clarke's face once she had replayed the unfortunate choice of words in her head.

“Um... I was thinking we could play one more song,” Clarke quickly changed the direction of the conversation.

“These two, plus another one?”

“Yeah... I mean, in ‘Next to you’ you don't get to sing at all... You only join me at ‘oh oh oh’ part...”

“I'm actually fine with that, I prefer playing anyway…” Lexa shrugged.

“But I like your voice!” Clarke blurted out. “I think we sound pretty good together...”

“I don't know, Clarke...” Lexa was hesitant. “The event is tomorrow... Would we even have time to learn a completely new song?”

“Oh, I wouldn't worry about that... I'm pretty sure you've heard this one so many times that it's probably engraved in your brain,” the blonde giggled as she grabbed her phone and started typing on YouTube. “We'll have it ready in no time.”

“I see you've been thinking about this,” Lexa smiled, raising an eyebrow.

“Maybe...” Clarke winked at her playfully before she pressed play.

Lexa recognized the tune as soon as the first notes resonated in the hotel room.

“Shawn Mendes, huh?” Lexa grinned.

“And Camila Cabello! They're sooo couple goals!” she sighed.

“Oh, I thought they had broken up...”

“No, those were just rumors...”

“Right...” Lexa nodded, hesitating for a moment before she spoke again. “Speaking of couples... Is um... I was wondering if... Well, I saw you push Finn yesterday, and I thought...”

“Oh, you saw that...” Clarke bit her lip nervously as she paused the video on her phone.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...”

“No, no... It's fine...” Clarke interrupted her and smiled softly. “I'm just so confused right now...” she sighed.

“About what?” Lexa left the guitar on the bed, giving Clarke her undivided attention.

“I thought I liked him, you know... We started hanging out this summer and he was really nice and fun to be around... But ever since school started, I feel like he's a different person... Especially around that jerk Roan…” she rolled her eyes as the name left her lips.

“Different, how?” Lexa asked.

“Like, he's always trying to seem cool in front of him, laughing at his stupid jokes and comments... It's just so... Frustrating...”

“Have you talked to him about this?”

“That's the thing; I don't feel like talking to him at all... I'm not even sure I like him anymore... It pisses me off that he thinks that Roan's comments are not a big deal... And it didn't seem to bother him that he actually called me a bitch yesterday...”

“What??” Lexa was shocked. “Roan called you that?”

“Yeah... In the context of one of his misogynistic comments about how Finn should learn how to control his bitch, aka me...”

“And Finn just stood there??” Lexa raised her eyebrows. “Why is he even friends with someone like that?”

“My thoughts exactly! Like, I don't need him to defend me, I can perfectly do that myself... But I expected him to at least... I don't know... Anything...” she tilted her head down.

“There's no way in hell I would've let that slide if you were my girlfriend!” Lexa said, sounding upset.

Clarke looked up, meeting Lexa's eyes, discovering a completely new shade of green; one she hadn't seen before. It was a deep yellowish green, almost as if there were flames of fire surrounding her pupils.

It was just a simple comment, and perhaps it was what Clarke would have expected from Finn, but she couldn't help but think how lucky Costia must feel with Lexa by her side.

“I mean... He should apologize to you,” Lexa continued in a softer tone, perceiving the vulnerability in the blonde's eyes. “Both of them...”

“Yeah... I'm pretty sure Roan isn't capable of that,” Clarke chuckled. “Anyway... Wanna play Señorita?”

“Sure,” Lexa smiled, accepting the change of subject, understanding that it was what Clarke needed. “I'm a bit hungry, though...”

“Me too... Room service?” the blonde suggested as she grabbed the menu from the nightstand.

“Cool,” Lexa couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm.

Clarke threw herself back on the bed, feeling strangely happy, and held up the piece of paper, with her arms extended, as she read the menu out loud.

“Uuu ... check this out ... They have vegan options!”

Lexa looked at her for a few seconds before leaning back and looking at the menu that Clarke was holding so they could choose their dinner together.

“What do you feel like eating?” the blonde asked, tilting her head and finding Lexa's face and her scent dangerously close to her.

Inevitably her eyes drifted first to Lexa's lips, which the brunette bit unconsciously as she was reading the menu, and then they deviated to her sharp jaw and that perfect union with her neck.

“What are you going to have?” Lexa asked, taking her eyes off the menu to now look at the blonde.

“Uh ...” Clarke looked away quickly, trying to avoid another awkward situation between them. “I could go vegan… just for tonight, though!” she grinned, excited to spend the evening with her neighbor.

* * *

After deciding what to eat for dinner, Clarke got out of the bed and picked up the phone to call room service.

Lexa remained lying, staring at the ceiling and feeling so comfortable that she didn't want to move; instead, she closed her eyes and stayed put, enjoying the moment, hearing the blonde's voice in the background.

She had already realized that there was something special about Clarke’s voice; Maybe it was the tone, the raspiness and the intensity with which the sounds came out brushing her lips to form words, or maybe it was her accent or even a combination of all those qualities that made her voice so ... unique.

In a strange way, it always managed to make her feel at home.

She knew that the latest family move was not being as traumatic as she had thought it would be. She still missed Costia, and there hadn’t been a day that she didn't think about seeing each other again, but she had passed all the stages of grief so quickly that she had barely been able to recognize them and, in part, it was thanks to Clarke.

It was certainly something she would have to thank her for at some point.

Clarke finished the phone call and turned to look at Lexa, finding her with her eyes closed. Inevitably, her widened hers at the image of the brunette on the bed, while an unexpected heat flooded her chest.

Could it be that she had fallen asleep? And what was she supposed to do now? Wake her up or let her sleep? They had just ordered dinner.

She stood still, taking advantage of the fact that she could look at her without feeling weird for staring.

Unconsciously, Clarke bit her lower lip as an idea formed in her head. She was sure that she had never met anyone like her; everything about her screamed perfection.

She reached over to her backpack and took out a small, pocket-sized sketch pad that she always carried on her travels. Perhaps because it was only when she was away from home and from her mother, that she felt free to do what she liked best.

She moved the chair a little closer to the bed, without making a sound, and sat on it before she began to sketch Lexa's silhouette on her notepad.

The shape of her eyes, her long eyelashes, her brown hair spread across the pillow, her calm expression, her parted lips, her body, gave her all the inspiration necessary for her hand to move unconsciously on top of the paper, creating a detailed sketch.

_“She’s gorgeous…”_ she thought, bringing her body a little closer to her to better appreciate the details, while she transcribed them on paper.

She was tracing the line of her lips when Lexa's voice startled her, pulling her out of her thoughts that she wasn’t even fully aware of.

“What are you doing?”

“Hm? Uh… nothing!” Clarke hurried, closing the pad quickly.

Her cheeks burned. She got up from the chair and turned around, trying to hide the pad in her hands.

Lexa propped herself up with her elbows on the bed and sat up, his eyes narrowing at her.

“Were you drawing?”

The blonde stopped breathing.

“Can I see?”

“Uh …” Clarke hesitated, feeling even more embarrassed.

In a way, drawing her without her consent might be considered a violation of privacy, but she hoped that Lexa would not think of it that way.

“Come on ... Let me see ...” said the brunette, giving her sad puppy eyes.

“Okay, but ... it’s just ...”

However, before Clarke could change her mind, Lexa was already behind her, snatching the pad from her hands.

The blonde turned slowly, bringing her thumb to her mouth, which she bit nervously, waiting for her neighbor's reaction.

Lexa couldn't help but smile at her nervousness, and opened the pad slowly, seeking approval in her eyes while moving the red ribbon she used as a bookmark, without taking her green eyes away from Clarke's deep, blue stare.

She cocked her head and looked at the pad, observing the soft strokes of the pencil on the white paper, the cleanliness and determination with which Clarke had captured her essence.

“This is...”

“It's just a sketch ...” she hurried.

“No ... I mean ... Clarke, this is amazing…”

“It doesn’t bother you?” She dared to ask, avoiding her look, hoping Lexa could not see the effect that her words had on her.

“No, not at all…” she smiled. “But how long did it take you to do it? Was I asleep for that long? It felt like I closed my eyes just seconds ago...” she laughed nervously.

“Uh ... actually ... it was about five minutes,” she smiled back, trying not to sound presumptuous, and tried to take the pad gently from Lexa's hands.

The brunette held onto it, unable to take her eyes off that sketch of herself. She was surprised, of course, although she wasn’t really sure why; perhaps because no one had ever made a portray of her before, or perhaps because Clarke had chosen her for her impromptu work of art.

“Wow! Seriously, Clarke ... you’re truly talented...” she said, dropping the notepad, which Clarke took again in her hands to put it in her bag.

“Thank you, but that's because you are ...” she smiled just as their eyes met, and she got lost for a second in the intensity of Lexa’s changing irises, now in a tone that she had not seen before; a malachite green, brighter the closer it got to her pupils.

“I’m what?” Lexa asked, raising an eyebrow, almost in an amused tone.

“I mean, look at you ... you are the perfect model ...” she said with a shy smile, heading quickly towards the bathroom. “I'm going to take a shower before dinner ...” she added, changing the subject, and closing the door to lock herself inside.

Lexa stood in the middle of the room, replaying Clarke's words. Did it mean that she considered her pretty?

Of course not. Surely, she only looked at her as any other artist would.

She sat on the bed and checked the messages on her phone, while she waited for the blonde to come out of the shower.

Clarke took her time, long enough for all the heat she'd felt to finally leave her body, but when she reached for her towel as she got out of the shower, she realized she had left it on the bed next to her pajamas.

She used one of the hotel towels, even though she wasn’t too thrilled about it; she avoided wiping herself too much and used it only to wrap herself in in before she opened the door.

Lexa raised her head slightly from her phone at the sound of the door, immediately finding Clarke's bare feet, legs, and bare shoulders, and her hair falling wet over them, in an order that made her blush as his eyes moved north, reaching her face.

“Uh ... Lexa ... could you bring me my PJs? I left them on the bed, and I don't want to get the floor wet…” she asked, biting her lower lip.

Lexa almost stammered for a few seconds before reacting and grabbing the pajamas to bring them closer to Clarke.

“Thanks...”

“Uh ... sure ...” the brunette replied, trying to stay focused on her eyes. “No problem...”

Clarke noted her discomfort.

“Oh, sorry ... I didn't ...”

Lexa shook her head, confused.

“What for?” she asked.

“Sometimes, I forget that you ... I mean ...” Clark cleared her throat, glancing at her body wrapped in the towel.

Lexa narrowed her eyes, understanding what Clarke was trying to say.

“Ahh ... no, no ...” she answered with a smile. “It doesn’t bother me ... I don't think of you that way ... besides, we are friends ...”

“Of course... uh, sure ... yes ...”

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

“Room service ...” a male voice sounded from the other side of the door.

“Uh ... I'll get it ... you go get dressed ...”

_“Jesus, Clarke… what were you thinking?!”_ Clarke said to herself, shutting the door of the bathroom while Lexa ran to get the food.

It was true. Lexa was her friend and she liked girls, but that didn't mean she liked ALL girls. Besides, Clarke was sure that she wasn't even her type, especially after meeting Costia on that video call at her house.

But why should she care about that, anyway?

During dinner, they chatted normally. Clarke was interested to learn a little more about the relationship between Lexa and Costia, which she couldn't help but compare with her own with Finn, finding that there were hardly any similarities, and, for some reason, felt a bit disappointed.

Maybe it was because of the way Lexa talked about her girlfriend that she felt a bit of envy; But the conclusion Clarke came to that night, especially after that chat, was that Lexa only saw her as a friend.

They rehearsed ‘Señorita’ before going to bed, realizing, as Clarke had predicted, that it didn't take them too long to learn it. Lexa was good with the guitar and she was just discovering that she loved to accompany Clarke with her voice as well.

They got into bed and turned off the light.

“Goodnight... _señorita_ ,” Clarke said playfully, accentuating the last word.

Lexa laughed.

“Goodnight, Clarke!” the brunette replied softly.

Clarke sighed.

Was it possible that she liked her name better in Lexa’s voice?

She closed her eyes, hoping to find the answer in her dreams.

* * *

The game turned out to be even a bigger challenge for the girls than what they had expected initially; the Memorial High basketball team was down by two points with only a few seconds remaining in the game. The O’Connell High school team had surprised them, keeping their defense steady throughout the game, making their strategies a bit difficult to carry out to perfection as they were used to doing with other teams, and now they were desperately struggling to even the score before the final whistle.

Gaia was dribbling outside the three-point line while Clarke ran towards the low post, successfully blocking the defense player and making it possible for Lexa to receive the ball at the wing. The dark-skinned girl passed the ball to Lexa, who then glanced at the rim while raising her shoulders in an attempt to simulate that she was going to take the shot. She knew her little trick had worked when she saw the defense player jump, giving her enough time to dribble towards the three-second area, getting the attention of the other defense player who ran in her direction, leaving Clarke completely alone in the corner outside the three-point line. Lexa smirked as she took a quick glance at the blonde before passing the ball to her behind her back and proceeded to do a fake lay-up. By the time the defense realized what was going on, Clarke was already launching one of her perfect rainbow shots, the ball entering the hoop and making that sweet swish sound just milliseconds before they heard the buzzer announcing the end of the game.

It was the three-pointer that was needed to win the game, and as soon as they saw the numbers change on the scoreboard, the rest of the team, including the bench players, ran towards Clarke with huge smiles on their faces. They engaged in a group hug, screaming and jumping up and down as they celebrated their victory on the court. Even Indra couldn’t hold back the beaming smile that replaced her otherwise strict-looking features, feeling extremely proud of her team. She shook the other team’s coach’s hand with a polite nod of the head, and watched her team approach her, pure happiness written all over their faces.

“Excellent job, ladies!” she greeted them as they stood in front of her. “That was the perfect example of teamwork! Alright… go hit the showers now, and I’ll meet you on the bus!”

On their way to the locker room, Lexa walked next to Clarke, who smiled at her as soon as she felt her presence.

“I’ve never seen coach Indra smile before,” Lexa commented.

“I know, right?” Clarke chuckled. “Looks like she’s human after all!” she added, making Lexa laugh out loud.

“Yeah… Amazing shot, by the way!”

“Couldn’t have done it without you,” Clarke met Lexa’s eyes, smiling softly at her. “You could have easily made the lay-up, though… how come you passed the ball to me?”

“Because it was the only way to win the game…”

“Sure, but… what if I had missed?” she insisted in a playful tone. “It would’ve been safer to just go for the lay-up, don’t you think?”

“There’s no fun in playing it safe, Griffin…” the brunette grinned, and Clarke felt warm in her chest, realizing she loved when Lexa called her by her last name. “Plus, I knew you wouldn’t miss,” she winked at her before they entered the locker room together.

**Author's Note:**

> An original story (CLEXA AU) in collaboration with @anestattoo, based on some of the characters from the TV show The 100.
> 
> All Rights Reserved.  
> This work is not to be used or adapted in any way without my permission.


End file.
